


Two Guys And A Symbiote

by scarletmanuka



Category: Venom (Movie 2018)
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Domestic Fluff, Dr Symbrock, Fluff and Smut, Friends to Lovers, Housemates, Little bit of angst, M/M, Multi, Other, Slice of Life, Slow Burn, Smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-02
Updated: 2019-02-03
Packaged: 2019-10-02 20:38:54
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 17
Words: 39,940
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17270747
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/scarletmanuka/pseuds/scarletmanuka
Summary: It's two years after the Life Foundation incident and Eddie has got his life together. He's successful once again in his career, he's got the love of his life living up his ass, and he's got a new best friend - his ex's partner, Dan.One day he comes home to find than Anne has kicked Dan to the curb and the doc needs a place to crash. Best friends turns into housemates, and housemates eventually turns into something more, with a lot of fun, shenanigans, and a tiny bit of angst along the way.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Sassy_Boo_Bear](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sassy_Boo_Bear/gifts).



Eddie’s feet pounded the pavement and he breathed deeply, enjoying the way that his lungs burned and his leg muscles ached. He moved over as another jogger came towards him on the path around the lake and they nodded amicably at one another, a polite acknowledgment that the other was there, that they were both out enjoying a run. He was pretty sure that he’d seen the guy a couple of times since he’d started jogging around the park last week, but he’d not been at it long enough to know for certain who the regulars were.

Since he’d moved into a bigger apartment not far from here, into a much nicer neighbourhood, he’d been keen to settle down into a routine, get his life back on track. It had taken two long years of working his butt off, proving himself worthy to editors and then network execs, but his hard work had finally paid off and he'd regained some of the integrity that he had lost. Sure, he’d been _right_ about the Life Foundation but that didn't mean that future employers were keen to take on someone who was a loose cannon. He’d had to prove that he could toe the line, not blatantly flaunt the rules and embarrass his bosses. He’d regained his footing in print journalism, then nine months ago had become a consultant for one of the evening current affairs shows, until finally he’d been offered the opportunity two months ago to bring the Brock Report back. That had come with a healthy pay rise and so he’d finally been able to move out of his shitty shoebox sized apartment (that _still_ bore the scars of the fight with Treece and his mercenaries) and into something much nicer. He still didn’t have a lot of _stuff_ , he didn’t need all that much, but even the small act of buying a new dinner set, just a very basic one from Walmart, made him feel more like a responsible adult than anything had done since he lived with Annie.

With this new-found responsibility, he figured that he needed to work on being healthier. He’d taken up jogging again, not only to fend off any early onset middle-aged spread, but also for his mental health. He found that when he was active, he felt energised, more eager to chase down leads and jump into the darker investigations. He’d started off three times a week but now he had built up to going everyday (if his schedule allowed). Of course, not _everyone_ in his life was happy about his exercise habit, and every single time that he’d been out, he’d had a grouchy symbiote grumbling in his head.

**Don’t see the point, could be at home, watching Netflix.**

_I’ve explained the health benefits, V - you know why I’m doing this._ He’d long grown accustomed to talking internally to Venom while out and about - even using a bluetooth headset didn’t detract from their more...morally grey conversations. He still chatted out loud to Venom when they were at home, and his Other tended to do the same, but it was just safer when they were out, especially now that he was beginning to be recognised again. The last thing he needed was a shoddily filmed video from someone’s phone showing reporter Eddie Broack talking to himself about eating bad guys.

**Can keep you healthy - don’t need to do this.**

_I know you do, love, but doesn’t this make it easier for you? Less to fix?_

**Jiggles.**

_What?_

**When you run about like this, we jiggle around. It’s uncomfortable.**

Biting back a laugh at the image of his symbiote bouncing around his organs, like a passenger in a car driving down a corrugated dirt road, Eddie slowed his pace to a walk, figuring that he’d done enough for today anyway. _Sorry, babe, I didn't mean to make you jiggle, but I’m doing this so_ **_I_ ** _don’t jiggle._

**We like Eddie the way he is.**

_I know you do, but this is something that I gotta do for me. Can you understand that?_ _  
_

There was a disgruntled snort from inside as Venom made it clear that no, he _didn’t_ understand that, since in his mind everything was a ‘we’ thing. It was something that they’d struggled with the entire time. Eddie loved Venom, and he never wanted to be separated, but he also didn't want to lose his sense of self, he always wanted to be his own person. He believed that that could work in conjunction with perfect symbiosis, whereas Venom couldn’t get past the fact that Eddie didn't want to essentially become one. It was the only thing that they tended to fight over these days, two years being long enough to iron out all the other wrinkles in their relationship.

Despite this, they were both ridiculously happy and had settled into a blissfully domestic arrangement with one another. Eddie didn't need anyone other than his symbiote, didn’t crave human touch at all, only wanted Venom. Venom had grown accustomed to Earth’s ways and had adjusted, rarely now seriously suggesting that they eat someone who had merely bumped into them or was rude to the barista at the local coffee shop. His understanding of who was bad enough to be edible had grown and although they didn't always ‘eat out’ as Eddie put it, they’d done enough that San Francisco's crime rate had steadily been declining over the past two years. That was great for city statistics and made the place climb up the livability index but it also made it a little harder for them to find a snack when they needed one. They’d been venturing further and further afield when they hunted, though that was probably a good thing in hindsight considering that they didn't want to draw attention to their own backyard.

**Home, Eddie. Want tots.**

_How about some broccoli?_

**If we wanted to eat a tree, we would eat a tree, Eddie.**

_How about a salad?_

**We have bonded with a rabbit before and we are most definitely** **_not_ ** **a rabbit now.**

 _Come on, love, you’re killing me here. Can we just_ **_try_ ** _to be a little healthier?_

Venom considered this and then magnanimously offered, **We can have blueberries after tots.**

_Okay, well, fine, I guess that’s a compromise that I can accept._

**We like blueberries - they pop like miniature heads in our mouth!**

Eddie groaned but his lips were twitching at the corners - his Other was just too damned cute sometimes. Maybe after they’d had dinner, Venom could give him another kind of workout? The symbiote seemed to enjoy when they played in the bedroom and Eddie loved to struggle, pretend to try to escape the hulking mass above him, who was pinning him to the bed. It always left him sweaty and exhausted, his muscles sore from straining to get free. Who said that exercise had to be _boring_?

Eddie rounded the corner of his street, smiling as he took in the view. It looked much like any other city neighbourhood, but to him it was proof that he was finally getting somewhere in life, that he’d moved on from all of his fuck ups and was bettering himself. He was happy and content and he felt Venom purr within him, curling up around his heart and reflecting back similar emotions to his host.

Pausing to fish his keys out of his pocket, Eddie looked across the street and noticed Dan’s car parked there. He pulled out his phone, not seeing any missed calls or texts and wondered if he’d forgotten plans that they’d made.

 **Weren’t seeing Dan till Friday,** his helpful secretary advised him, before picking up on that thought, **Not your secretary! Apologise!**

_Awww, really? Don’t you want to look up at me from behind your desk with your big eyes and beg to suck my cock so I’ll give you that raise you’ve been after?_

Venom paused, as if shocked. **We did not realise that that was what secretaries did.**

Eddie chuckled and rubbed absently at his chest, knowing that his Other would know that it was meant for him. _Not in real life, but they do in porn._

**We have not...come across this sort of porn yet.**

_Look at you! You’re getting so much better at your puns!_

A sense of smug satisfaction radiated from the symbiote. **We are glad that you appreciated it. Will we search out this porn?**

Although Eddie didn't feel the need to have a human partner, he still enjoyed watching porn, and Venom had taken a liking to it as well. It gave him _ideas_. Eddie found that he generally enjoyed those ideas immensely. _We sure can, love, but first let’s find out what Dan’s doing here._

The prospect of an unannounced visit from Dan wasn’t a bad one - over the past couple of years, they’d become good friends. From the minute that he’d met Dan, he’d been just so damn nice, so happy to be meeting him, that Eddie couldn’t have disliked the guy if he tried. After the Life Foundation incident, Eddie had found himself seeing the couple more and more often. At first it was because they were worried about him and how he was grieving for Venom; after they found out that the symbiote had actually survived the explosion, they’d been more worried for everyone else. Well, Dan had been - Annie had just been pissed that Eddie had kept the truth from her, screaming at him like they weren’t supposed to have secrets from one another despite their relationship being well and truly done and dusted.

The thing about Dan though, was that he was a _good guy_. It didn't take him long to get over his aversion to Venom, especially when he could see how happy Eddie was to have him back. The doc went out of his way then to get to know Venom, asking him questions about where he’d come from, his people, and the places that he’d been in the universe. He’d quickly become one of Venom’s favourite people and so by extension, one of Eddie’s. They began to look forward to their weekly dinner with the couple more so they could chat with Dan than with Annie. It hadn’t taken them long to get over their desire to try and win Annie back - they both realised that she wasn’t quite right for them and Dan was good to her, but they still valued her friendship. She was never quite so friendly towards the symbiote as Dan was though, and so naturally they started to become closer with him, while they drifted slowly away from Eddie’s ex.

One week, when Annie was busy preparing for a deposition and didn’t want to be disturbed, Dan suggested that the two of them, plus Venom, go out to a bar for their regular weekly dinner so that they wouldn’t disturb her. Whilst they were there, they discovered that the bar was going to be hosting a pool competition starting the following week and Eddie had lamented how he used to be rather good at the game. Dan had just looked at him with one brow arched and had said, "Show me". They’d racked up and in a shockingly short amount of time, Eddie had discovered that no matter how good he had thought he was, Dan was an absolute master. The doc had grinned over his shoulder, just before he pulled off a spectacularly difficult shot to sink the black and said, "Just one of my numerous hidden talents".

They’d entered the tournament as a team and for the next six weeks, they spent every Friday night at the bar together, eventually making the finals. Annie had shown no interest in coming along to any of their games, but she put in an appearance for the final, and was there to kiss Dan in congratulations as they took home the trophy. The following week, Eddie was sad when he realised that their boys’ nights out were over and as much as he enjoyed going round to the couple’s house for dinner, he much preferred the more casual evenings that he spent with Dan.

Dinner that night felt forced, and Anne was waspish all evening, leaving several times to take work calls, and by the time Dan walked Eddie to the door, he wanted to suggest that maybe they give the following week a miss. The doctor beat him to it though, but instead of cancelling altogether, he suggested that maybe they could resume their Friday nights at the bar and then less frequently, they could meet up for dinner with all three of them. Eddie had been on board, so long as Annie didn’t have any issues, and when she happily agreed (seeming rather relieved), they fell into a routine.

After about a year of this, Eddie ran into one of his childhood friends when he was out, and explained to Venom after their brief encounter who he was. That led Venom to ask about the concept of a ‘best friend’ and they got into a long conversation about friendship and how it ebbed and flowed over the course of a human’s life, and how someone could be considered your best friend at one point but when circumstances changed, you could find a new best friend.

 **“Like Dan,”** Venom had said.

“What do you mean?”

**“Dan is your best friend now.”**

“I kinda think that title falls to you, love.”

**“No, we are one, we are Venom - that goes beyond paltry human definitions. When it comes to ‘human buddies’ it is clear that Dan is your favourite.”**

And it was true. It was Dan that Eddie bitched to after a bad day, it was Dan who he called to come pick him up when his bike broke down forty miles from town, and it was Dan that he preferred to hang out with. It had crept up on him, and if someone had asked Eddie at the very beginning if he would ever consider becoming so close with the doctor, he would have laughed in their face, but there you had it - Dan _was_ his best friend.

So it wasn’t a total surprise to see his car out the front, not outside the realm of possibility that he would drop by unannounced for a visit, and it most certainly wasn’t unwelcome. What _was_ a surprise however was exiting the elevator to see Dan leaning against the wall of the hallway, a suitcase at his feet. “Dan?” Eddie called. “What’s going on?”

“Hey, Eddie, V,” the doc greeted them, and he looked sad and tired. “Anne’s kicked me out - do you mind if I crash here for a bit?”

Looking into his best friend's face, seeing how different he looked to his normal, cheerful self, Eddie didn't even hesitate, just gave him a warm smile and said, "Sure thing."


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yep, you might have noticed a slight change to the title because I am a fucking idiot who shouldn't post when she's tired and fucked up my own goddamn fic title *sigh*

Dan followed Eddie inside, wheeling his hastily packed suitcase behind him, and parked it just inside the door. “Want a drink?” Eddie called from the kitchen, already opening a bottle of juice and beginning to gulp it down. He was wearing running shorts and a sweat soaked t shirt, obviously just back from a run, and Dan was impressed that his friend had followed through on his resolution. Eddie had mentioned when Dan was helping the odd couple move into their new apartment that he was planning on making more of an effort to get fit and the doctor side of him was more than a little pleased. Sure, Venom did wonders for Eddie’s health - when he wasn’t actively eating his organs from the inside that is - but there was no telling what the future held. If Venom got sick or if, God forbid, they were separated, than it would be best if Eddie was strong and fit by his own merits.

“Sure,” he said, accepting the offer. “Maybe a coffee?”

“Aren’t you worried that you won’t sleep?” Eddie teased, but he was already flipping on the coffee machine.

“I doubt that I’ll get much sleep anyway.” God, he sounded pathetic and morose even to his own ears. What must is friend think of him?

“That bad, huh?”

“I thought the fact that I was on your doorstep with a suitcase would have given that away.”

Eddie shrugged as he opened a cupboard and fetched a mug. “Annie kicked me out a couple of times while we were together but right up until she gave me my ring back, she always got over it and let me come back. I figured that it was just something like that.”

Dan sighed and leaned up against the armrest of the sofa and rubbed at his tired eyes. “I don’t know, bud - we’ve had fights before where I’ve ended up in the spare room but she seemed pretty adamant when she told me to get out today.”

His friend was quiet for a bit as he wrestled a pod into the machine and frothed some milk, making Dan’s coffee exactly the way that he knew he liked it. He handed it over with a small smile, and then parked himself on the sofa, still holding the massive bottle of juice. “So, what happened? You wanna talk about it?” Eddie ignored Venom’s long tongue that had emerged from under the neck of his shirt and was not-so-stealthily dipping into the juice.

Sitting down next to Eddie, Dan slumped back on the sofa, not caring that he probably looked much more of a slob than usual, but he was in the company of friends so who really cared? “She brought up the whole kids thing again.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah, oh.”

A rolling mass of gleaming inky darkness swelled out from under Eddie’s shirt, forming the rest of Venom’s head to go with his tongue. **“I thought Anne was aware that you did not want offspring?”**

“Yeah, V, she is. I have made that abundantly clear over the entire course of our relationship.”

Eddie frowned. “I didn’t think _Annie_ wanted kids either?”

“Yeah, well, she changed her mind I guess. I mean, she mentioned it a while back after a couple we knew had a baby, but I figured that it was just a passing thought; momentary cluckiness sort of thing. She didn’t bring it up again until a few weeks ago, and when she did, it was one of her ‘serious conversations’. We talked it out, I told her again that I wasn’t interested in kids and by the end of it I was under the impression that she’d just been thinking about the possibility, not that she actually wanted to start trying or anything. Then _boom_ , tonight, out of the blue she just throws it out there that this is suddenly a deal breaker for her. She said that if I didn’t want to have children with her, then it was over so she could look for someone who did.”

“Woah, just like that?”

“Yep,” he said, bitterly. “My life did an absolute turn around in about five seconds flat.”

“Holy shit.”

“Anyway, if you don’t mind me crashing here for a few nights till I can find somewhere of my own, I’d really appreciate it.”

“It’s no problem. I don’t have a bed in the spare room as yet but I’ve got a blow up mattress. Let me have a shower and I can dig it out.”

“Thanks, Eddie, I really appreciate this.” He forced a smile, trying to find some of his natural cheerfulness. “Hey, you guys got any plans for dinner? How ‘bout I cook you guys something to say thanks?”

**“We were going to have tater tots and blueberries.”**

“Oh, well, I don’t want to step on your toes or anything. I just wanted to offer.”

“Nah, that’s really nice of you,” Eddie said. “I won’t say no if you want to cook something and I’m sure _V won’t mind either_.” He gave him symbiote a pointed look.

 **“This is one of those silly Earth customs, isn’t it?”** Venom said petulantly.

Rolling his eyes, Eddie got up from the couch. “Don’t pull that one, love. You’ve been here for two years now and have a pretty good grip on the customs - you know all about being polite.”

Venom stuck his tongue out at Eddie and his host pulled a face back, and then he gestured to the kitchen. “Have at it, man. I have no idea what we’ve got in the way of ingredients but feel free to use whatever you find.”

Dan smiled at the couple’s antics. “I’m sure I can cobble together something edible.” He made his way over to the fridge as they disappeared into the bathroom and surveyed the contents. His phone buzzed in his pocket and he pulled it out, grinning when he saw that it was a text from Eddie.

_Broccoli, bell pepper, and snap peas in bottom right crisper. Please, please, please sneak in some veg, just don’t tell V - Eddie_

Taking a moment to wonder at how Eddie had managed to send the text without Venom noticing, he found the vegetables and placed them on the counter, then went back for the packet of chicken breasts that he saw there. A quick perusal of the pantry rewarded him with an onion, soy sauce, and some spices, plus a packet of rice - everything that he’d need to whip up a quick stir fry. He quickly fell into the comfortable routine of preparing a meal, not allowing himself to dwell on the events of the afternoon. He was devastated of course - he loved Annie, dammit - but she had clearly developed different priorities to him, something that wasn’t just a dealbreaker for her.

People were often surprised to find that Dan didn’t want children of his own since he was so good with them, and everyone seemed to share the opinion that he would make a great dad. Yet that wasn’t something that he wanted for himself, even if he _would_ be good at it. Sure, he liked kids, thought that they were funny and energetic, and thought that it was hilarious the sorts of things that they said at the most inopportune moments. That was at work though, or when he socialised with friends that had kids, or even when he flew home to see his brother and his nephew. Having a child, or several children, all of the time, without the possibility of handing them back when they got to be too much was just something that didn’t appeal to Dan. He also worked long hours, and sometimes found it difficult to even find time to spend with Annie, and he didn’t think it would be fair to bring kids into the world, only to spend hardly any time with them. His work was his passion and it wasn’t something that he was willing to change, not for anyone or anything.

He’d made the decision to be child-free back when he was first studying medicine and he had always been upfront with potential partners right from the get go. It might seem odd to some people to be talking about the future and having kids on the first date, but after being accused by the second girl that he’d ever gotten serious with of misleading her, he’d rather be a little awkward and direct than lead someone on. Of course, he didn’t just come out and announce that if they got serious, these were his hard nos - he had tact after all. Generally he would crack a joke, or made an off handed comment, just something to get the point across. Then, if things developed further, he would bring it up again at a later date.

With Anne, he thought that he’d met his soul mate. They were so alike in so many ways, one of which was their stance on children. The lawyer had always been adamant that her career was too important to give up and that she couldn’t ever see herself popping out a few rugrats. People were allowed to change their minds of course - it happened all the time, Dan knew that, but it had taken him by surprise when Annie did. Not that he’d thought that she couldn’t possibly have a change of heart, but it was more how swiftly and _silently_ she had come to her decision. It wasn’t like they’d only been dating for three months - they’d been together for almost two and a half years, and living together for half of that. He’d just assumed with something so big, so important, that she’d have more than a single discussion with him about it.

It was what it was however and Dan just had to deal with that. This wasn’t something that they could work through, or get over. One of them would have to compromise and on something so big, there was little chance that bitterness and resentment wouldn’t fester. It would be best if he just accepted the fact that it was over and started the task of piecing his life back together, instead of fighting for something that was now out of his reach. He was beginning to wish that he hadn’t gotten rid of his own apartment when he’d moved in with her, but at least he had a tidy nest egg stashed away that would make a nice deposit on a place of his own, which was better than what Eddie had been left with when he’d broken up with Annie. He’d start looking at the market tomorrow, and hopefully he’d find somewhere nice that was close to work. He looked around the kitchen that he was in, exposed brick and arched windows giving it a certain charm, and thought to himself that somewhere like this would probably suit him quite well. He didn’t need a lot of space but he also didn't want to feel claustrophobic. He’d been impressed when Eddie had shown him around before they’d started moving furniture up from the truck he’d hired; the apartment wasn’t massive but it was well laid out, making the most of the area allocated. Maybe he should look and see if any of the apartments in the building were for sale?

He wasn’t going to spend too long looking for the ‘perfect place’ though. If he could get away with moving his stuff just the once then he would take it - Annie hadn’t given him a timeframe to get the rest of his belongings but he hoped that she would be reasonable. He didn’t really want to move it all into storage only to have to move it all again when settlement on wherever he bought went through. Dan liked everything neat and tidy without unnecessary complications, but he was also aware that life didn’t always go to plan.

He checked the rice in the pot and found that it was cooked just as he heard the shower shut off. Unable to find a colander, he used the lid to drain the water from it, and then quickly served up two helpings of stir fry. He got the leftovers placed into a bigger container and also did the dishes washed while he waited for Eddie and Venom to join him. He whistled to himself as he placed the wok in the drying rack, feeling a sense of satisfaction as he breathed in the smell of the meal he had prepared. It smelled good and his stomach was already grumbling a little and he just hoped that his friends would like it. Eddie probably would, but Venom was much pickier, especially when it didn’t involve human heads.

“Holy crap, that smells amazing!” Eddie cried when he appeared in the kitchen and he hurried over to the small dining table.

“Let’s hope it tastes as good as it smells,” he said modestly, handing over a bowl and a fork.

Eddie was swallowing his first bite before Dan had taken his own seat and the sounds he made were borderline inappropriate. “This is heavenly,” he said with a lusty sigh.

“What do you think?” Dan asked Venom as he coalesced a small head from Eddie’s shoulder.

 **“The smell is interesting.”** Eddie shook his head fondly and held up his fork for his symbiote to taste, waiting for a reaction before he loaded up again. **“It is acceptable,”** Venom announced after he had chewed it.

Eddie snorted. “Bullshit, V - you think it’s tasty, just like I do.”

 **“Perhaps...but to be sure, we will need to sample more.”** And ge held his mouth open.

Dan wondered if he should have served up three bowls so Venom could have had his very own. He hadn’t thought to do so since he was so used to watching them share a plate when they ate out, but it made sense that the symbiote should have his own. He made a mental note for next time and for now just enjoyed his meal.

They devoured the stir fry in less than twenty minutes, with Eddie and Venom going back for not only seconds, but also thirds. Afterwards, they pushed back their chair and Eddie placed his hands on his distended belly and groaned. “Urgh, we ate _way_ too much, love.”

**“If we were not limited by your insufficient human stomach, we could have consumed much more.”**

“Really? I thought there was a limit to how much broccoli you’d eat?”

 **“Broccoli? There was broccoli involved?”** He sounded scandalised.

“Well, yeah - what did you think those little green trees were?”

 **“Betrayed!”** he cried, flopping over and lying across Eddie’s lap dramatically. **“How could you do this to us, Eddie? How?”**

“I’m sure you’ll live, V.” He glanced over to Dan. “Thanks for dinner, man, it was great.”

“No worries, it’s the least I could do to say thanks for putting me up for a few days.”

“Well, about that…”

Dan paused in the act of gathering up the dishes, wondering what had made Eddie change his mind. Would he still let Dan stay just the night? Or would he need to find a hotel? His mind was whirring but he kept his face passive, not wanting to show how stressed he suddenly was.

“V and I were talking, and we have that spare room just sitting there, not really doing anything.”

Oh. Maybe this wasn’t going how he thought it was.

“I don’t know if you’d be interested in - I mean, you probably want to buy your own place and not rent somewhere, and probably live by yourself, not with two losers like us, but I just wanted to say that you’re welcome to stay with us, you know, permanently, if, that is, that it’s something that you might be interested in.” He was rambling, something that he did when he got self conscious and Dan forced himself to stay in his seat, not pull Eddie up and hug the life out of him.

“Really? You guys would be happy to have me here?”

“Well, yeah, ‘course. You’re our friend.”

**“We like spending time with you.”**

“Exactly. Besides, I never got to have that whole ‘housemate’ experience when I was in college since I got a tiny loft apartment on my own, and I think it might be fun.”

“You’re sure?” Dan asked slowly, considering the idea. “I don’t want to get in your way or anything. You two are kind of used to living by yourselves.”

**“We are sure.”**

“As long as you are,” Eddie said. “We don’t want to pressure you into anything.”

It was true that Dan hadn’t considered renting but that was because why would he rent a place by himself when he could just buy one? He’d just assumed he would be living alone, and if he were honest, he’d been dreading that. He’d not had a lot of time to dwell on it but he always preferred living with someone than by himself. He smiled then, beaming up at them, his two best friends. “That sounds awesome. You’ve got yourselves a deal.”

He reached out a hand and Eddie took it, and a black tentacle wrapped around their wrists as they shook, sealing the deal.


	3. Chapter 3

Eddie woke the next morning to the smell of coffee, warm and comfortable with his Other wrapped halfway around his body. He frowned, his mind taking a few moments to catch up with yesterday’s events, and then he remembered that Dan was there and was probably getting ready for work. It was nice, knowing that the apartment wasn’t empty, and he was glad that Venom had been more than happy yesterday when he had suggested that they offer the spare room permanently to their friend. Living with the symbiote wasn’t like living with someone else - they were always in the same body and although Venom could reach rather far (he could reach the fridge from the sofa for example), Eddie was always a part of what he was doing. When he was with Annie, Eddie had just enjoyed knowing that someone was in the house, doing their own thing, completely separate but just _being there._ He didn’t mind his own company but sometimes it felt lonely, and although he wasn’t one for living in someone’s pocket (he already had an alien up his ass after all), it was nice just knowing that he wasn’t alone.

His stomach grumbled and he figured that he may as well get up since he was heading into the office today to check in with his boss. He groaned a little as he climbed out of bed but couldn’t help but smile at the memory of how he’d gotten so sore in the first place. V had still wanted to watch secretary porn and Eddie had agreed so long as they wore headphones out of respect for their houseguest. His Other didn’t mind, and was relatively quiet throughout but afterwards, when he was putting into practice some of the things that they’d just watched, it was Eddie who was struggling to remain quiet. Venom had promised him that he’d be feeling it for the next week and if the way his ass felt this morning was any indication, that was going to hold true.

After going for a piss, Eddie shuffled into the kitchen, still only half awake. Neither he nor V were very energetic first thing, and he wasn’t sure if he should consider it an accomplishment or not that he had managed to get an alien lifeform addicted to coffee. Venom was surprisingly useless before their first cup of coffee in the morning and Eddie filed that away for if the Klyntar ever chose to invade Earth. They’d have to get them reliant on caffeine _first_ mind you, but if they could do that, they’d be easy enough to defeat. “Mornin’’ he grunted in Dan’s direction, making a beeline for the coffee machine, and batting Venom away who was floating like a zombie slug towards the caffeine.

“Morning!” Dan replied cheerfully. Much, much too cheerfully.

Eddie turned his bleary gaze to his friend and was startled to see him standing clad only in boxers and a tank top, flipping pancakes at the stove. On anyone else, it would look like they’d just crawled out of bed, but somehow Dan managed to make whatever he was wearing look classy. It wasn't the first time that Eddie felt jealous of him for that ability and it certainly wouldn’t be the last. He scratched at his stomach idly and asked, “You’re making breakfast?”

“Sure am.” He gave them a blinding smile.

**“Pancakes!”**

“Of course, V, because I know how much you both like them.”

Eddie frowned. “You know that I don’t expect you to cook for us, don’t you? Like, I get that last night you wanted to say thanks, but it’s not something you gotta keep doing.”

Dan gave him an amused smile. “You don’t have to worry about me feeling like an indentured servant, Eddie. I actually quite enjoy cooking; find it relaxing actually, so since I’ll be cooking for me anyway, I may as well make enough for us all.”

Eddie nodded. “Alright, well, I ain’t gonna say no, especially if everything tastes as good as last night.”

“You’ll be pleased to know that I have never made a meal that _hasn’t_ tasted good. It’s my super power.”

 **“We are keeping him, aren’t we?”** Venom asked, with a note of panic in his voice.

Eddie laughed. “Yeah, love, we’re keeping him.” He dropped a wink at Dan before adding milk to his coffee, then fell into a seat at the table and watched as his friend cooked the rest of the pancakes. “You working today?”

“Yeah, got two surgeries lined up but they’re pretty straightforward and quick so I’m hoping to manage to knock off a little early. I might even be able to go and get most of my stuff while Anne is still at work.” He smiled but it was forced, but Eddie didn’t pass comment. He knew that sometimes you just had to push past your feelings to get through the day - the breakdown could come later.

“Okay, well, I’ve got a pretty quiet day as well so give me a buzz when you’re finished and I can give you a hand.”

“You’re sure? You’ve already done so much…”

“Um, you just helped us move in here, like, three weeks ago. Other than saying that you can stay, we’ve not exactly done anything.”

“Okay, well so long as you’re sure, I’d appreciate the help,” he said as he plated up the pancakes.

 **“Less talk, more eating,”** Venom announced.

Eddie rolled his eyes. “Sorry, you’re gonna have to get used to Mr Demandy here.”

The doc shrugged. “I’m not at all opposed to eating so I’m not going to argue.”

“Yeah well, you’re lucky since today he just wants us to just eat pancakes. Usually when he’s demanding that the two of us eat, he’s wanting heads.”

“I’ve actually been meaning to ask -”

Eddie held up a hand, stopping him short. “You really don’t want to know, man. Like, _really_ don’t want to know.”

**“Pussy.”**

“Yeah, well, I’m not the one who shrieks like a banshee if there’s anything remotely vegetable shaped in our meal,” he threw back.

**“You can take your long, thick vegetable shapes and shove them up yo-”**

He was interrupted by Dan snorting juice out of his nose and the doc grabbed a napkin and turned away as he wiped his face clean.

“You all good?” Eddie asked.

Dan nodded and cleared his throat. “Yep, all good. Just, ah, reminded me of an emergency surgery I once did.”

“You mean?”

“Uh huh.”

“Ouch. What type?”

“Zucchini.”

“Oh. Wow.”

“He was pretty mortified.”

Venom was watching them and his eyes were narrowed in confusion. **“What are you talking about? This is confusing.”**

“Erm…” Eddie turned to Dan. “As the medical professional in the room, I think that maybe _you_ should explain this to him.”

“Gee, thanks.” He rolled his eyes but took a moment to think. “So, you know what you were telling Eddie that he could do with his vegetables?”

**“Shove them up his ass. Yes.”**

“Right, well, that’s not just an expression. Some people, uh, well, they like to experiment and if they don’t have the proper...tools, they will improvise. Generally with phallic shaped vegetables.”

Venom just stared at Dan for a very long time, then he turned to stare at Eddie. **“Neither of you look like you are joking. Humans actually do this?”**

“ _Some_ humans,” Eddie clarified.

**“Why?”**

Dan shrugged and then cut into hie pancakes. “Desperation, I guess.”

**“And they enjoy copulating with a vegetable?”**

“Uh, well, I guess so - until it goes wrong. Then they make the shuffle of shame into ER.” Eddie snorted and Dan winked at him, before he pointed his fork at their plates. “Food’s going cold, V.”

The mention of food distracted the symbiote and he immediately began scarfing down the pancakes that Dan had put down especially for him. Eddie picked up his knife and fork and began eating at a more sedate pace, until he was almost blinded by some syrup getting flung into his face. “Urgh, V, would you be careful.”

A long tongue darted up to lick the syrup from his face, leaving Eddie covered in saliva. **“There. Better.”**

“Urgh, if you say so.” He looked over to Dan. “He’s the messiest eater, sorry.”

“That’s okay.”

“You say that now. Give it a week.”

“Trying to scare me off already?” Dan teased. “Should I look for somewhere else to live?”

 **“No! Don’t go, we can be less messy!”** Venom cried, and he hurriedly licked the table around the plate, cleaning up the bits of pancake and flecks of syrup that speckled the area. **“See, all gone, no mess.”**

Eddie grinned at how cute Venom was being at the thought of Dan finding somewhere else to live and taking his cooking skills with him. He reached over and gave his Other’s head a quick caress. “Calm down, love, we were just joking.”

“Yeah,” Dan agreed. “You’re stuck with me now, V.”

Consoled by this, Venom went back to eating, but Eddie could tell that he was making an effort to make the process less chaotic.

They finished up breakfast and Eddie waved Dan away when he tried to clean up. “You cooked, we’ll clean, it’s only fair.”

The doc nodded. “Alright then, thanks.” He yawned and then stretched his arms above his head, his tank rising up a little to show off a sliver of a flat tummy. “I guess I should go and get ready for work then.”

Eddie nodded and got up to fill the sink with hot, soapy water, then washed the dishes and handed them over to Venom, who had gotten rather good at drying them. He could feel pensiveness rolling off his Other and he asked, “What’s wrong, V?”

It was a moment before the symbiote answered. **“Do you think that Dan really will stay? We are not the easiest to live with.”**

Eddie wasn’t sure if he meant ‘we’ as in the both of them, or was just using ‘we’ as his own pronoun as he was want to do, but in the end, that didn't really matter. “How long have we been friends with Dan, love?”

**“A while now.”**

“He’s our best friend, yeah?”

**“Yes.”**

“Do you think he knows us pretty well? Has seen us at our worst?”

 **“He was there when you got drunk at the bar, stole a woman’s hairbrush to use as a microphone, and jumped up onto one of the tables to sing** **_Girls Just Wanna Have Fun.”_ **

Eddie squirmed a little at _that_ embarrassing memory but it made his point. _“_ Exactly. I’m pretty sure that Dan knows us well enough to know what he’s getting himself in for. He could have gone and booked into a hotel, V - instead he came here, because we’re his friends.” He emptied the sink but scooped up some bubbles onto his finger and playfully dotted them onto Venom’s snout. “Feeling better now?”

Venom went a little cross eyed as his tongue came up to lick the bubbles off his face, and Eddie grimaced at what the dishwater must taste like. **“Better,”** he agreed, and then he darted forward to kiss Eddie, getting him back for the bubbles by sticking his tongue down his throat and sharing the aftertaste with him.

Eddie wrapped his arms around his Other, wanting to hold him close, despite already being as close as they possibly could be with one another. “Love you, V,” he whispered against the inky skin.

**“Love you too, Eddie.”**

They heard the door to Dan’s bedroom open and soon the doc joined them. He was dressed in a baby blue button down and nice slacks, all wrinkle free and Eddie wondered if he’d brought an iron with him, since he certainly didn't own one. Dan laughed when he asked this, a blush colouring his cheeks. ”Uh, maybe I did,” he admitted. “I wouldn’t exactly be taken seriously at the hospital if I turned up looking like I’d just rolled out of bed.”

Eddie didn’t point out that his friend had looked immaculate that morning after actually just rolling out of bed, not wanting to make him feel self conscious. Instead, he said, “Right, well, text or phone me when you’re ready this afternoon and we’ll come help you with your stuff. For now, I’d best get dressed and get ready for my meeting today.”

The meeting with Eric, their producer, went well and he was impressed with the numbers _The Brock Report_ was bringing in after only its third episode. He was happy when Eddie told him that he was working on a piece on abuse in aged care facilities, and then after congratulating Eddie once more on his comeback, wrapped up the meeting. Eddie went to his desk, spoke to the camera crew about getting some outside shots of the nursing home they were investigating, and then spent a little time doing some research, but until Monday when he had his interviews lined up, there wasn’t a hell of a lot more that he could do right now. He brainstormed some ideas for future episodes, always trying to be ahead of the game so he wasn’t left floundering for ideas, but he already had the next three episodes filmed and ready to go so he wasn’t exactly behind. When Dan texted him at just after three, he didn't feel bad at all by having an early finish, though by the number of empty desks around him, he wasn’t the only one starting his weekend early.

At that time of the afternoon they found a park easily enough outside of Anne’s place, just behind a white pickup. Eddie was a little surprised to see Dan slide out of the driver’s door as he stashed his helmet. “A friend at work loaned it to me,” he explained at Eddie’s questioning expression.

“Handy.”

“Definitely.” He took a deep breath and turned to look up at the building. “Right, well I guess we should do this.”

Knowing _exactly_ how it felt to be in this very same situation, Eddie clapped Dan on the back and then followed him inside. Deja vu followed him everywhere he went as they collected up his best friend’s belongings, and at one point he even found one of his own books on the shelf in the living room. It didn’t take them too long - Anne had already started and she had packed the rest of Dan’s clothes and anything else of his from the bedroom into a couple of boxes, leaving them at the bottom of the stairs. The most time consuming part was dismantling the bed in the spare room, which had been Dan’s from his old place, but it was soon loaded onto the back of the pickup, along with everything else he owned.

“It doesn’t look like much like this, does it?” Dan mused as they checked the straps holding everything down. “I guess I didn't realise how much I got rid of when I moved in here.”

“Well our place is kinda minimalistic right now so feel free to fill it up,” Eddie told him as cheerfully as possible.

Dan smiled at that. “Our place, huh?”

“What else should I call it? The bachelor pad?”

 **“You are not a bachelor!”** Venom growled from inside, but projected his voice so Dan would be included in the conversation.

Eddie chuckled and patted his chest where he could feel Venom curled up under his ribs. “Sorry, love - just a turn of phrase.”

 **“Find a different one,”** he grumbled.

Dan’s lips twitched - he had always found Venom’s possessiveness of Eddie amusing. “How about the Ex Anne Club?”

Eddie grinned, trying to make that lip twitch into a proper smile. “The Kid Free Zone? No, wait, The Brat Pack Frat Flat? Or, um, The Insane Asylum!”

 **“Home,”** Venom announced. **“Let’s just call it Home.”**

The twitch turned into a full smile at this and Dan nodded. “Home. I like the sound of that.” He popped his key into an envelope and slipped it under the door, then took one last look at the house. Eddie noticed Mr Belvedere in the top window, watching them with the asshole expression he generally reserved just for Eddie. It seemed that even the cat had taken sides. Then Dan turned his back on his past and smiled once more at Eddie and his Other. “Well, what are we waiting for? Let’s go home.”


	4. Chapter 4

Carrying four large pizza boxes, Dan used his new keys for the very first time. He unlocked the door to the apartment and then used his hip to bump it closed before he went to the kitchen and plonked the pizzas on the bench. He yawned - it had been a long day, but he knew that there was quite a bit to do before he could sit down and relax. They’d moved everything up from the pickup to the apartment, and he’d swapped the pickup for his own car, leaving it in the hospital parking lot like his colleague had told him to, but he'd have to unpack at least some of his stuff tonight. He figured that he’d just sleep on the mattress tonight and worry about the bed tomorrow, but for now he was hungry and knew that the others would be too. Time for dinner then.

He could hear voices from deeper in the apartment, coming from his new room and he headed down the hallway to let his new housemates know that dinner was ready. He heard the conversation before he saw them - they weren’t exactly being quiet.

“No, not that piece, _that_ piece, yeah the one with the holes drilled on that side.”

**“This one?”**

“That’s the one, babe, thanks. Oh, wait, no, we got this wrong.”

**“No we haven’t.”**

“Yeah, we have - look, it’s not fitting.”

 **“Because you’re not trying hard enough.** **  
**

“There’s no point forcing it!”

**“It’ll fit if you put your back into it.”**

“V, I’m telling you, it’s the wrong piece.”

**“Or maybe you’re just a pussy who let’s two bits of timber thwart you.”**

“You really need to learn a new insult, that ones getting old, you stupid parasite.”

 **“** ** _I am not a parasite!_ ** **”**

“Yeah well, you’re not being all that helpful right now and isn’t that what symbiosis is all about?”

**“Apologise!”**

“Not until you apologise for calling me a pussy!”

**“But you are a pussy! Now apologise!”**

“Ow! You seriously just hit me with a piece of timber?”

**“It wasn’t hard, you’re just a pussy.”**

There were sounds of a struggle and Dan peeked around the doorframe to see them wrestling with one another; Venom holding a piece of the bed frame up high with a tentacle and Eddie trying to reach it. He finally snagged it and then he grinned. “Hey, _this_ is the piece that we needed!” And then turned back to the half assembled bed that he was sitting amidst on the floor as if nothing had happened.

Dan cleared his throat and they both looked up at him, Venom giving him one of his toothy smiles. “What are you guys doing?” he asked.

Venom stretched his neck out until he had reached most of the way across the room so he could hover in front of Dan’s face. **“We are putting your bed together,”** he announced proudly.

“Trying,” Eddie said over his shoulder. “We are _trying_ to put it back together.”

“But why?”

“Couldn’t have you sleeping on the floor on your first proper night, could we?” he said, picking up a handful of screws and digging through them for the ones he wanted. “Though given the lack of instructions, there’s a good chance this might collapse under you in your sleep.”

Feeling touched that his friends were trying so hard to make him feel welcome, he hitched a thumb over his shoulder. “It can wait - I picked up pizza on the way back.”

**“Pizza!”**

“Awesome, thanks, Dan.”

The doctor offered a hand and Eddie clasped it, allowing himself to be pulled to his feet. Venom was bobbing and weaving around Eddie’s head excitedly like a puppy and as soon as they reached the kitchen, he had one of the boxes flipped open and a slice of pizza was already disappearing behind rows and rows of sharp, pointed teeth. “Jesus Christ, V, don’t you have any restraint?” It was a peculiar mix of fondness and exasperation, one that Dan was becoming increasingly familiar with.

**“Why wait?”**

“Because it’s polite?”

**“Your pathetic Earth saying ‘good things come to those who wait’ is flawed and entirely untrue. Seize the day, Eddie. And the pizza.”**

He sighed but took a piece of pizza, and Dan scooped the boxes up and moved them into the living area, putting them on the coffee table. They sat together on the sofa and Eddie let out an almost orgasmic groan as he sank into the cushions. “Oh man, it feels _good_ to be sitting down.”

 **“You were** **_just_ ** **sitting,”** Venom pointed out.

“Yeah, but on something soft, with back support. _And don’t even say it!”_

 **_“_ ** **Say what?”**

“We both know for a fact that you were gonna call me a pussy. Again. For like, the millionth time tonight.”

**“Don’t have to - you already know it’s true.”**

Dan snickered but stopped when he saw Eddie glaring at him. “Sorry, but you two fight like an old married couple.”

“That’s because we _are_ an old married couple,” Eddie griped. “I just didn’t get the ring or the big party or the honeymoon in France. No, I got an alien up my ass and a pimp’s molar stuck in my damn throat because _someone_ doesn’t chew their damn meals properly.”

 **“Because** **_somebody_ ** **complains when we savour the taste.”**

“Well _excuse me_ for not particularly enjoying the taste of human flesh!”

**“It is not our fault that you have deficient taste buds.”**

“I was coughing for a damn week trying to get that tooth dislodged! Then when it finally came up, I was with my boss!”

 **“And he very kindly gave you the rest of the day off to go to the dentist.”** Venom sounded smug. **“You weren’t complaining about what we did with our free time.”**

Eddie started blushing and Dan decided that he didn’t particularly want to know what they’d gotten up to. He flipped open a different box to reveal the Hawaiian pizza and offered it to Eddie. “I know you like pineapple.”

“Ooh, thanks!”

 **“Pineapple does** **_not_ ** **belong on a pizza!”**

“Yeah, it does, V. Now shush, I’m enjoying this.” Eddie took a large bite and smiled happily as he chewed.

Venom grumbled but cheered up when Dan pushed an entire Meat Lover’s in his direction and conversation dried up as they ate, the odd couple demolishing over three pizzas between them. The silence was broken by Dan's phone ringing and he pulled it out to see Anne’s details on the screen. The contact photo was a selfie that they’d taken together, his own grin wide and happy while Anne kissed his cheek, her sultry eyes locked on the camera. It was like a punch to the gut and he made a mental note to delete the photo as soon as the conversation was over. “Sorry, I should get this.”

Eddie had seen who was calling and he stood up. “No worries. We’ll get back to getting the bed put together, give you some privacy.”

As soon as he was alone, he answered the call. “Hi, Anne.”

 _“Dan,”_ she said, and it sounded perfunctory. The more she spoke, the more that Dan recognised that she was using her ‘courtroom’ voice, the emotionless, businesslike tone that he’d never particularly liked. _“I just wanted to say thank you for being so quick about collecting your belongings. I appreciate your willingness to allow both of us to move on as seamlessly as possible.”_ Like they were simply two people who had shared a transaction.

“That’s okay,” he said for want of anything better to say.  

 _“I’ve already seen to the paperwork to have your name removed from the utilities, but I will need your signature to adjust the Contents Insurance since it will no longer include your belongings.”_ He swallowed hard, shocked at how cold she now was. Only a handful of days ago had she laughed as she’d kissed him goodbye in the morning, and now she was acting like he was a mere inconvenience, a chore to complete and then tick off her list. _“What’s your forwarding address so I can send the paperwork, and any other mail that comes here, to you?”_

On autopilot, he rattled off the address, still too shocked to process what was going on. He felt empty, hollow, like half of him had been ripped from him with brutal efficiency. He’d thought, as he’d driven away from the home that they had shared, that he was dealing quite well with the situation, but it was clear as day now that he really wasn’t.

 _“Wait,”_ Anne said, a hint of emotion colouring her voice for the first time, _“you’re staying with Eddie?”_ Surprise, that's what it was. He was surprised that she was surprised.

“Uh, yeah - why wouldn’t I?”

 _“I didn't realise that you were so close,”_ she admitted.

Dan barked out a laugh at that. “Really, Annie? For someone so observant, you can be completely blind to things that you don’t want to see.”

_“What’s that supposed to mean?”_

“It means that Eddie’s my best friend, has been for a while now, but you didn’t want to acknowledge that it was happening. You’ve _always_ had an issue with me being on good terms with your ex, but you never wanted to admit that we were friends.”

_“Maybe that’s because he ruined my life and I thought that you’d have been a little more supportive of me.”_

Not wanting to get into a whole circular argument about something that had happened in the past, he didn’t bother to rebut her. “If you could send that stuff over here, it would be great, thanks.”

She huffed. _“Fine, just let me know when you have a permanent address.”_

“I do, it’s this one,” he told her.

_“Wait - you’ve moved in there, for good?”_

“Yeah. Yeah I have.”

There was a brief silence on the other end, and then Anne said, _“Right, well, I hope that works out for you. I’ll be in touch.”_ And she hung up.

He stood there for a long moment, wondering how exactly his life had gotten to this point, but then shook it off. It was done and dusted, and nothing he could do would change that. He had to move on, had to be grateful for the things that he _did_ have and not dwell on the things hat he didn’t. He had a great job that he loved, and that he was good at. He had colleagues who he also considered friends, who were more than willing to do him a favour in his time of need. And he had best friends who had not only offered him a shoulder to cry on and an ear to listen, but also a place that he could call a home. Things weren’t nearly as bad as his fragile emotions were leading him to believe. He focused on that and straightened his shoulders, then he quickly deleted Anne's contact photo, leaving it blank, before he went to find those best friends.

The bed frame was complete; Eddie tightening the last screw as the doctor walked in. “Wow,” was all Dan could say.

Eddie smiled at him and then held up his hand for Venom to high five with one of his tentacles. “Awesome job, V. See, I told ya we’d make sure you weren’t sleeping on the floor tonight,” he directed to Dan.

The two humans picked up the mattress that was leaning against the wall and lowered it into place on top of the frame and Dan then rummaged through one of the boxes in the corner and pulled out a sheet set. Eddie, and even Venom, helped get the fitted sheet on and soon Dan was shaking the comforter out, watching as it floated down onto the bed. He looked around the room and despite the boxes and the mess everywhere, it suddenly felt more like his own space than an empty spare room. Feeling a rush of happiness flow through him, he jumped up and onto the bed, bouncing a little as he settled down on top of the blanket. He folded his arms behind his head and took a deep breath, his eyes falling closed. “This is more than I could have asked for. Thanks so much, guys.”

The mattress moved and he turned his head to see Eddie climbing up to lay next to him, Venom curling up on his chest. “The least we could do after everything that you’ve done for us over the years.”  He paused, one hand falling to stroke absently along the length of the symbiote. “You good?” he asked after a while.

Dan took a moment to consider this. Ten minutes ago he hadn’t been, but if there was one thing that Dan Lewis was good at, it was holding himself together when things got tough. He nodded, and turned his face up until he was looking at the ceiling again. “Yeah, I think so.”

“I know what it’s like, man; know what Annie’s like. Did she do the whole one eighty thing on you, like you’re a complete stranger and she’s sold you a car?”

That caused him to laugh. “Yeah, actually, that sums it up pretty well. I’d been thinking it was like there was nothing but a transaction between us.”

“Well, don’t let it trick you, don’t forget that there was something deeper, something beautiful between you two. If you believe that it was nothing, then you start to feel like _you’re_ nothing, and it’s hard to come back from that.”

Dan remembered the first time that he’d met Eddie and he’d recognised immediately someone in the middle of a depressive slump. It made sense that the way that Annie treated him afterwards and not the breakup itself was the catalyst for that, but he also knew that Eddie blamed himself for what had happened. Dan wasn’t blind - he recognised that his best friend had been in the wrong for what he’d done, but after experiencing it first hand, he also knew that Annie wasn’t easy to deal with in the aftermath of a relationship ending. It was one of those tricky grey areas where everything got complicated but he was confident that he himself would deal a lot better than Eddie did, mainly because he wasn’t alone like he’d been. He had Eddie and he had Venom and with his best friends at his side, he knew that he was going to be okay. He reached over and gave Eddie’s bicep a quick squeeze and then without even thinking about it, scritched Venom on the head. “I can’t be nothing when I’ve got friends like you two,” he said quietly. Venom began to make a sound that was suspiciously like a purr and when he glanced over, he saw that Eddie was watching him, his expression open and honest. He swallowed, and in the quiet of the room it sounded loud, and he was suddenly aware of the fact that they were all in bed together, laying quite close.

Eddie seemed to sense the change in atmosphere and he cleared his throat. “You want a beer?”

Grasping the offer like it was a lifeline, but not knowing why he was suddenly drowning, Dan nodded and sat up, almost jumping off the bed. “A drink sounds brilliant.”


	5. Chapter 5

Over the next week, the trio fell into somewhat of a routine. When they were home on the weekend, they either watched television together, or Dan would sit and chat to Venom while Eddie worked on his laptop. The doc joined them for their daily runs and it was he who came up with a solution to Venom’s ‘jiggly little problem’.

“Where do you sit while Eddie runs?” he asked, not even out of breath after they’d done two laps of the park already. Eddie thought that this was distinctly unfair since he himself was already drenched in sweat and gasping for air.

 **“Generally under his diaphragm.”** Venom was projecting his voice so Dan could hear but not loud enough for random passersby to notice.

“You bastard,” Eddie griped. “Is that why it’s so hard to catch my breath?” He held up a hand to indicate that he needed to stop and he bent over, wheezing and gasping.

**“No, that is just because you are unfit.”**

“Turd.”

Dan took the opportunity to stretch and he hooked one leg up behind him and grabbed his ankle, stretching his quad. “I think that might be the problem,” he told Venom. “Have you tried kind of _spreading out_? If you expand your surface area, then maybe you won’t get jolted so much for the movement.”

**“Hmmm, we have not considered that.”**

“Worth a shot, don’t you think?”

His Other did seem to think that it was worth a shot and Eddie was subjected to the odd sensation of him moving underneath his skin. Venom seemed to take Dan quite literally and he felt him undulating just under the surface all over his body until he was sure that if he was to cut himself open anywhere, he wouldn’t see flesh and blood but the black, glistening skin of his symbiote. **“We shall see if this helps.”**

They continued on their jog and after another half a mile, Eddie asked, “Is it working, V?”

**“Dan is a genius.”**

The working week began once more and both Eddie and Dan headed off to their respective jobs. Eddie had a day of interviews lined up with both current and former employees of the nursing home that he was investigating, plus with the family members of some of the residents. One of the personal care assistants had agreed to speak up so long as she could stay anonymous and she showed them photo after photo of unexplained injuries that she had found on some of the residents when she showered them.

“I brought it to the attention of several of the nurses, and even the director, but no one seemed to care. They thought that it must be just the residents being clumsy, but these people are scared! They’re not speaking up, but I’m sure that it’s one of the staff doing this to them.”

She gave Eddie a hard copy of the photos and Dan found him dwelling on them when he got home that night.

“Hey, bud, how’s it going?”

Eddie grunted.

“Hard day?”

“Somedays I wonder if it would have been better for humanity if Riot had succeeded and they’d come back and wiped us out.”

Dan sat down at the table as well, a concerned frown darkening his face. “That bad, huh?”

Eddie sighed and slid the photos across the table. “I love my job but sometimes seeing the terrible things that other humans do to the most vulnerable of us, it gets ya down, know what I mean?”

“Where were these taken?” the doc asked, flipping through the printed photos.

“I’m investigating claims of abuse at a local nursing home. One of the aides took these as proof but her bosses are claiming that they’re all the result of accidents.”

Dan shook his head. “No, there’s no way. This one, for example -” he tapped his finger against one of the photos, “ - you can clearly see that the bruises are from fingers wrapping around the wrist. Same with this one, but it’s on the hip. And generally when the elderly fall, they get skin tears on their arms or legs since they either try and brace their fall with their hands or fall onto their knees. These skin tears here wouldn’t be from a fall - they look more likely to be from being hit with something, either a belt or even just a hand.”

Eddie looked up in surprise. “You’re sure?”

Dan nodded. “We all do our time in ER, so we become familiar with these sorts of injuries. A forensic pathologist will be able to confirm this if the police get involved.”

“Wow, that’s awesome, thanks, man.” He gathered up the photos and popped them into a folder to keep them safe. “It’s always nice to have someone else’s opinion just to reassure myself before I take it to my producer.”

“No worries. What’s the point of having access to my medical expertise if you don’t use it?” He smiled and then stood up from the table. “You up for a run now? Or should I just start on dinner?”

They didn’t see much of one another for the next few nights. Eddie was busy chasing up leads, hearing a rumour about a family who had pulled their elderly mother from the home after a string of ‘falls’, and he finally tracked them down and convinced them to speak to him. One of the other surgeons at the hospital was off sick and so Dan was picking up some of his more urgent patients and worked long hours, frequently not getting back to the apartment until after ten at night. They took to leaving notes for one another on the kitchen counter, explaining where they were and approximately what time they’d be home.

 

_Gone to Sacramento for an interview. Back late - E_

 

_Made a curry before I left this morning to use up that chicken. No idea when I’ll be done so don’t wait for me to eat - D_

 

_V is getting tetchy, we’ll be ‘eating out’ tonight - E_

_P.S Your curry was damn good. Cheers!_

 

_Having drinks after work with my team. Sorry if I woke you this morning - can’t find my glasses - D_

_P.S. Is it just me or does something smell funny in here?_

 

_Dropped your glasses in the hallway outside, I’ve put them in your room. I’ll be home on time tonight, will look for the source of smell then. It fucking stinks - E_

 

Eddie staggered in on Friday afternoon, exhausted and planning on heading straight for bed. He saw that Dan had added a scribbled note below the one that he had left for the doctor that morning.

 

_I can see! Thanks :) - D_

 

He shook his head even as he smiled, realising that they were communicating better than he ever had when he was with Annie. It had only been a week and the place felt alive and vibrant, something that had been missing when it had just been himself and Venom there. The nature of their relationship steered him towards being rather introverted and for someone who had always been rather social, it was nice to be pulled out of that.

Eddie grabbed himself a beer, popped the top and fell onto the couch, taking a deep swallow as he just let himself relax. He ignored the smell that was hovering around him, telling himself that he’d look for what was causing it tomorrow - probably a dead rat in the vents or something. He was simply too tired right now to be bothered. After a moment, strings of black goo began to coalesce in front of him and Venom’s face appeared. “Hey, love,” he said, even though they’d been having, only minutes prior, a silent conversation about Mrs Turner downstairs and the likelihood that the eighty year old was a secret drug dealer. “How you doing?”

**“I have access to your memories, Eddie - that’s a terrible pick up line.”**

Eddie laughed. “I thought I already had you - why do I need to bother with pick up lines?” There was a beat of silence and he felt a thrum of pensiveness along their bond. “Hey, babe, what’s wrong? Talk to me, V.”

Venom’s opalescent eyes seemed to look everywhere but at Eddie, a sure sign that he wasn’t sure how to begin this conversation. **“Are you unhappy?”**

“Unhappy? Are you kidding me, babe? I’ve never _been_ happier.” He cupped Venom’s cheek and stroked it with his thumb. “Where’s this coming from? Why do you think I might be unhappy?”

**“You’ve been thinking of how nice it is to have Dan here.”**

“Yeah, because I like living with someone else.”

**“Am I not someone else?”**

“No, V, you’re not - _we_ are Venom, you’re my Other, my love. You’re my everything and could never just be ‘someone else’.”

**“Okay.”**

He wasn’t convinced this was the end of it. “You know you can talk to me about anything, yeah? Have I said something else that has upset you?”

**“Maybe.”**

“I can’t fix it unless you tell me, love.”

Venom paused again but Eddie waited patiently, knowing that the symbiote still found it hard some days to articulate how he was feeling, having spent the majority of his live as part of a hive mind. **“Are you sad that we cannot have a wedding?”**

His mouth dropped open a little in shock and he forced it to close. “Pardon?”

**“The other day, you said that we were practically married but you didn't get any of the benefits of it. Do you wish that we could have a proper wedding?”**

“Oh, love, I was just joking - it was just my way of explaining to Dan how close we are. I’m not at all upset that we never had a wedding.”

**“What about the honeymoon in France?”**

“I don’t really think France is my ideal holiday destination, babe, so no, not upset.” He leaned in for a gentle kiss, and his Other politely covered up the rows of sharp teeth so he wouldn’t accidentally get bitten. “The only thing I regret some days is not being able to wear a ring so other people know that I’m taken. Not that many people try to pick me up but with _The Brock Report_ taking off again, it’s only a matter of time before the crazed fans come out of the woodwork.”

 **“You are** **_mine_** **, Eddie! No one else can have you!”**

He chuckled. “I know, love - I’m not looking for anyone else, trust me. Maybe when I get paid again, I’ll look for a cheap, secondhand ring or something that I can wear for appearances?”

**“Eddie should have the best, not something cheap and nasty.”**

“Well, we’re not doing as badly as we were before, and with Dan sharing the rent now, maybe we can put some money aside for a couple of pays and save up for something nicer?”

 **“Why buy something at all? This is much more personal.”** Eddie looked down as something tickled around his ring finger and saw that a thin black band had formed around it.

“Oh, V, I love it,” he said with a gasp and then he flung himself forward for a deeper kiss. “Better than anything money can buy,” he added once he’d had his mouth and the back of his throat thoroughly explored by his Other’s long tongue.

They snuggled together on the couch and before Eddie could even finish his beer, it was slipping from his fingers as he fell asleep. A thin tendril darted out and caught it, placing it gently on the floor so as not to wake him up.

oOoOo

Groggy and disoriented, Eddie came awake to the sound of voices. He was sprawled out along the couch but his feet had been picked up and deposited in Dan’s lap and Venom was gathered on top of his shins, face turned towards the doctor and listening intently. “It’s really very simple,” Dan was saying. “Maybe I could teach you tomorrow if you wanted to learn?”

**“Really?”**

“Of course, V. My Grandma would be stoked to know that her recipe hadn't just been passed down from generation to generation but transcended across intergalactic species as well.” He noticed Eddie and smiled over at him. “Hey. Sorry, did we wake you?”

“Uh, no, not at all.” He gestured to his feet and swung them up and off Dan’s lap, dislodging Venom in the process and making him grumble as he moved up his host’s body. “Sorry if I was squishing you.”

“Not at all. Venom asked me to sit so we weren’t shouting and he moved your legs for you.”

“Ah, that makes sense.” He’d been wondering how he’d gotten into that position.

“So, he tells me that congratulations are in order.”

“Huh?”

Dan pointed at Eddie’s hand. “It’s official now?”

“Oh, right! Yeah, figured if he wanted it, he had to put a ring on it.”

“Well, I’m kinda pissed that I didn’t get invited to the wedding, but I suppose I can forgive you both,” he joked.

**“If we’d had a proper wedding, you’d have been best man for sure, Dan.”**

“Awww, thanks, V - that’s really sweet of you.” Dan reached out and scritched the top of Venom’s head once again, something that only the doctor seemed to be able to get away with. Eddie had seen Anne try to pet him like he was a cat before and he’d been most upset.

“s’true,” Eddie told him. “You’re our best friend, man.”

Dan smiled at them then, wide and happy. “Same goes for the both of you.”

Eddie yawned, stretching his arms  above his head, noticing the way the light bounced off the glistening black of the band around his finger. He’d have to do some research into different metals so he could come up with a convincing lie about what it was made from. “I’m gonna head to bed I think, it’s been a long week.”

“Sure thing. Sleep well, Eddie.”

“You too.”

**“Goodnight, Dan. Don’t forget about tomorrow.”**

“I won’t, buddy. Goodnight.”

“What’s happening tomorrow?” Eddie asked as they went into the bathroom to brush their teeth.

Venom’s teeth flashed in the mirror as he grinned. **“Dan is teaching me how to bake.”**

Eddie’s hand paused for a moment as he pictured that in his mind. “Right, well, I’ll be sure to keep the morning free.” He definitely wanted a front row seat to that.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Posting schedule note: So, it might come as a surprise but there isn't actually a schedule for this fic. I'm posting as soon as I'm done with a chapter, which has been daily pretty much up till now (twice today since this chapter was just too cute to hold off until tomorrow morning) but with work and life, I might not be able to keep this up. As those of you who are regular readers of mine will know, I won't make you wait longer than a week for a chapter (unless I'm dead, then it might be like, ten days) but just wanted to clue everyone else in. I'm not a huge fan of Author Notes but wanted to explain that so you know the worst case scenario for when to expect the next chapter :)  
> Cheers for your support, I'm glad you guys are enjoying this so much :)

The snip of scissors was what woke Eddie but he didn’t jolt awake and look around frantically. No, that would have been _stupid_ because, for some God forsaken reason, _scissors_. In his bed. Why?

He slowly opened his eyes and then raised his head, squinting against the sunlight that was streaming in through the open curtains. He took in the sight, closed his eyes as he settled back down on his pillow and told himself that this was the weirdest fucking dream that he had ever had in his entire life. There was the sound of another _snip_ and then the rustle of paper but it was the smell of the glue that told him that this was actually real and not a dream or a hallucination. He opened his eyes once more and slowly sat up. “V? Whatcha doin’?”

His symbiote had turned one half of the bed into an Arts and Crafts explosion. There was sheets of printer paper strewn everywhere, some cut into long strips, a smaller pair of scissors lay discarded on the edge of the bed, and the laptop was open in front of Venom. The symbiote was looking between the screen and his project, his tongue poking adorably out of his mouth as he concentrated. He'd manifested several tentacles, one of which was holding the larger pair of kitchen scissors, another held a stick of glue, and a third and fourth tentacle were carefully pressing together two bits of paper into a band.

 **“What does it look like we are doing?”** he said in reply, as if it should be obvious.

“It _looks_ like you raided the craft supplies from _Sesame Street_ but I have no idea what you’re making or _why_ you’re making...whatever it is that you’re making.” He tilted his head as he looked harder. “Is that a hat?”

Venom held up his creation triumphantly and with the different angle, the full thing came into view. **“It is a chef’s hat!”**

“Um, oookay,” he said, drawing out the word. “Just, I mean, this might sound _crazy_ but I don’t really know _why_ you need a chef’s hat. Care to remind me?”

Having no discernable pupils, Venom couldn’t actually roll his eyes but the huff and the small shake of his head definitely gave the impression that he was. **“Dan is teaching me how to bake today and we need to be properly prepared.”**

“I see. I’m not sure if people actually wear those in real life, V.”

The laptop was spun around and his Other used one of his tentacles to click onto one of the other open tabs. It was a Google Image search for baking and sure enough, in almost every photo with people in it, a chef’s hat was perched on top of someone’s head (children mostly but Eddie thought it best he keep that to himself). **“Google says otherwise.”**

“Fair enough - I mean, what do I know? I’m not a baker.”

**“We also require aprons, but they require material to make and we do not have any.”**

“I actually _have_ an apron somewhere,” Eddie told him. “It came with the pots and pans set that we bought from WalMart.” He pursed his lips. “Dan could use that one and I’m sure we could fashion you one from a tea towel if you really wanted one as well.”

The breath was knocked out of him as Venom threw himself at him, his tongue disappearing down Eddie’s throat. **“Thank you, Eddie!”**

“Gah! Careful of the scissors, V!” He batted the deadly weapon away but smiled and kissed Venom once more. It was good to see him excited about the little things - not just eating bad guys - so if Eddie had to sacrifice one of his tea towels to the cause, then he was more than willing to do so.

They retrieved a tea towel as well as coffee (Venom had already made himself one since he’d been up for hours already, too excited to sleep) and while they waited for the machine, Eddie rooted around in the kitchen, looking for the apron. He found it right at the back of the cupboard under the sink where he had ended up shoving the few things that he’d had no idea what to do with when he’d unpacked and he shook it out, giving it a furtive sniff to make sure it wasn’t too musty. They then took their supplies back to the bedroom and settled in to work.

While Venom started on the chef’s hat for Dan (using Eddie’s head as a guide for the band), Eddie started to cobble together an apron for his Other. He cut off the top two corners, trying to make it as apron shaped as possible and then used a pair of old shoelaces for the neck and ties. He didn't have a needle and thread but he got the stapler and stapled one of the discarded corners onto the front so it looked like the pocket on the proper apron and then held up his handiwork for Venom to see.

 **“Eddie, it’s brilliant!”** He licked a stripe from his host’s chin up to his eyebrows and then went back to putting the finishing touches on Dan’s hat. They heard the sound of the other bedroom door opening and then feet shuffling down the hall to the bathroom, indicating that their housemate was awake. **“Can we surprise him with it now?”**

Eddie swore that his heart doubled in size as he watched Venom writhe around in excitement and he grinned, his enthusiasm contagious. “Sure. Why don’t we let him pee first and while we wait, we’ll make him a coffee and give it to him then?”

Dan, bless him, immediately recognised the gift for what it was and his smile lit up the room. “Venom, this is amazing, did you make it?” he asked, immediately putting the hat on his head.

**“Youtube showed me how.”**

“It’s just like my grandma’s! We’re going to have the most authentic experience this morning.”

Venom’s grin was so wide that Eddie was worried that he’d accidentally swallow the room, but he didn't care. He'd fish the fridge out of Venom’s gut anyday if it meant that he got to see him so happy. Not too many people were privy to the secret of Venom’s existence but of those that were, Dan was the one who treated him the most like a proper person. He wasn’t condescending about the fact that Venom was still learning about the world and took a somewhat childlike delight in the simple things, recognising that the symbiote was older and had more experience than the entire human race put together. He simply adjusted his explanations to fit in with Venom’s scope of understanding and moved forward.

They had breakfast together and then Eddie very deliberately took himself into the living room, leaving the two of them alone as much as he could whilst still connected by a thin, black tendril. The nature of their bond was that Venom couldn’t survive in Earth’s atmosphere without a host, but Eddie didn’t want him to be dependant on him for _everything_. He wanted his Other to have connections and friendships that weren’t reliant upon him, wanted Venom to have a _life_ of his own. So he grabbed his laptop and sat on the couch and tried to give them some privacy.

He managed it for roughly fifteen minutes but couldn’t help the surreptitious glances he threw their way, and finally gave up on the pretense completely and just watched them openly.

There was no other word to describe the two of them besides adorable. They both wore their aprons and had a paper chef’s hat perched on their heads, and Venom especially looked ridiculous in his (but ridiculously cute as well). Wondering if he’d be allowed to take a photo of them, Eddie suppressed his smile as he observed them. They had gathered all the ingredients that they needed (Eddie overheard that they were making brownies) and Venom was listening to Dan intently as he explained the process.

“Okay, so first of all we have to melt the cooking chocolate and the butter together until it’s smooth. While that’s cooling a little, we’ll mix the eggs, sugar, and vanilla together with a whisk, before we add the chocolate mixture to it. Then we add the rest of the ingredients - the flour, and cocoa and the chocolate chips -  and mix it all up and once it’s in the pan we sprinkle even more of the chocolate chips over it before we bake it.”

Venom turned to look at Dan, his face expression serious. **“There is a lot of chocolate in this recipe.”**

“There is. It’s kind of why I suggested we make it.”

**“It is good. I approve.”**

“I figured you would. Right, shall we start?”

**“Yes!”**

They hit their first snag when Venom got distracted from stirring the melting chocolate by the half empty packet of cooking chocolate left on the counter. He had his tongue stuck in the packet when Dan cleared his throat and pointed to the smoking pot. “What did I tell you, V? You can’t stop stirring, even for a second, otherwise it’ll burn.”

 **“It has gone all flakey,”** he said, peering into the pot.

“Yep, it’s well and truly burned. We’ll have to throw it out and start again.”

**“No need to throw it out - I can dispose of it.”**

“Uh, V, I really wouldn’t do that if I were y-”

 **“Blurgh! Ewww, it tastes icky!”** **  
**

Dan nodded patiently. “Yep, I tried to tell you - burnt chocolate isn’t very nice.”

**“Quick! Give me some more chocolate to get rid of the taste!”**

“Yeah, I’m not falling for that one, V,” the doc said, and Eddie grinned.

**“But, Daaaaan! It’s horrible. Please?”**

“Maybe that’s a lesson - don’t eat the ingredients.”

The symbiote pouted and watched as Dan scraped out the pot over the bin. “Now, if you’ve left us enough chocolate, we can start again.”

They were successful the next time round and Dan was smart enough to place the cooling chocolate mixture far out of Venom’s reach.

**“Can I crack the eggs? I’ve never done it before; Eddie never let’s me.”**

“Sure you can.”

A thin tendril wrapped around one of the eggs and brought it smashing down on the side of the bowl, disintegrating it into an explosion of sticky yellow goop. **“Oops.”**

“It’s okay, Venom, this can be a little tricky. We’ll just try again.”

Dan emptied the bowl and handed Venom another egg. He tapped it much more gently this time, too gently. The shell didn’t even crack. He tapped it again, harder, but it still wasn’t hard enough. **“I believe this one is faulty.”**

“The egg is fine, V - there’s just a knack to it. You gotta hit it hard enough to break the shell but not so hard that it falls apart. We need four eggs - do you want me to do the first one and show you how?”

**“Okay then.”**

Taking the egg from him, Dan expertly cracked it on the bowl and then used both hands to pry it apart, sending the innards into the bowl. “See?”

**“It looks easy enough.”**

“Okay, well, have another try. I’ll just pop this egg into a different bowl in case we get shell in it.”

They had a dozen eggs and by the time that they had successfully gotten four eggs into the bowl, free of pieces of shell, the carton was empty and the bench and floor were sticky with raw egg.

Dan then placed Venom in charge of whisking the ingredients as he poured the chocolate mixture into the bowl, which went well enough, but when it came to adding the chocolate chips, Venom couldn’t help himself and swallowed half the packet of milk chips. “The brownies won’t be anywhere near as nice if you eat all the chocolate chips, Venom,” Dan chided him.

 **“But the chocolate is good** **_now_ ****”**

“If you just wanted to eat chocolate, you could just eat the stash I know hat Eddie keeps for you in the cupboard. These ones are for the brownies.”

Venom pouted again and didn’t steal any more as they poured the white and dark chips into the mix. Then Dan handed him a sieve with a grin. “Time to do the flour!”

It was a disaster. In an attempt to make up for disappointing Dan by eating the chocolate chips, Venom approached the task with gusto and soon a flour storm had taken over the kitchen. Eddie could hardly see the two, obscured as they were by clouds of flour, and when it finally settled, they looked like ghosts, faces white and paper hats weighed down with white powder.

“So,” Dan said, breaking the silence that had fallen over them, “that went well.” Eddie began to laugh uproariously as Venom stuck out his tongue and licked his face clean, before leaning over and treating Dan to the same courtesy. The doctor spluttered and wiped saliva off his face, but patted Venom on the head when he saw his big, hopeful eyes. “Thanks, bud, that was uh, real nice of you.”

**“Now we put them in the oven?”**

It seemed that Dan’s patience was bottomless. “Yep, now we put them in the oven.”

They cleaned the kitchen afterwards (at Dan’s insistence when Venom tried to worm his way out of it) and Eddie snuck up behind them with his phone, snapping a photo of them. His Other still had a dab of flour on his snout, and Dan’s eyebrows were caked with it, but they were grinning at each other as they joked around and they both looked overjoyed with their attempt. Eddie didn’t care about the mess, or if the brownies would even be edible - it was all worth it to see them both smiling like that.

In the end, the brownies turned out to be delicious and Eddie even managed to sneak a second one before Venom inhaled them all.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I made a super quick [moodboard for these three cuties](https://scarletmanuka1.tumblr.com/image/181835798741).

It was much later in the day and the smell of brownies had finally dissipated from the apartment when Dan’s nose picked up another scent. It was the same thing that he’d started to smell several days ago and it was strikingly similar to that of rotting flesh. Eddie had surmised that it was probably a rat that had died in either the vents in the ceiling or the wall, but from the way that he’d been passed out on the sofa when he’d gotten home last night, Dan figured that his housemate had forgotten that he'd said that he was going to look for it. Since Eddie was in the shower, Dan figured that now would be a good time to track down the elusive odour.

He worked methodically through the apartment, standing on one of the kitchen chairs to peer into the small ceiling space, checking behind the bookcase, and pulling the grates off the wall vents to check inside. He worked his way across the living room and towards the hall but the scent got fainter and fainter and he turned back, absolutely certain that it was emanating from the main room.

Eddie finished his shower and when he returned to the living room, he found Dan on his hands and knees, shining a flashlight under the sofa, checking to see if a mouse had crawled under there to die. He made a frustrated noise in the back of his throat as he rocked back onto his heels.

“What on Earth are you doing?” Eddie asked.

“I’m trying to figure out what that smell is!”

His friend sniffed the air and then made a face. “Oh yeah, it’s still lingering, isn’t it?”

“It’s driving me crazy. It’s around here _somewhere_ , I just can’t pinpoint it.”

“I’m going to make a coffee, and then I’ll help you look. You want one?”

He considered this - if he had caffeine now, he probably wouldn’t get to sleep until late, but he didn't have to work tomorrow, so was that really an issue. “Sure,” he agreed, “that would be lovely.”

As Eddie headed into the kitchen, Dan frowned as he looked at the sofa. More often than not, they ate here in the living room in front of the television, not at the kitchen table. He wondered if something had dropped down between the cushions by accident? He pulled the cushions off and put them on the floor, and immediately the smell was stronger. There was nothing obvious at first sight but the source of the stench _had_ to be here. Without thinking, he slipped his hand down as far as it would go in the crease at the back and immediately he felt something squishy and slimy. He pulled it out and sat staring at it in shock. “Venom?” he called once he’d finally found his voice again.

 **“Yes, Dan?”** He could just see the symbiote materialise from Eddie’s shoulder.

“I’m going to go out on a limb here and suggest that _this_ was your doing?” He held up the human spinal cord, complete with discoloured nerves hanging limply from it, and was rather proud of how steady his voice was.

**“Oh! That’s where that went!”**

“Venom, what the fuck is that?” Eddie almost shrieked, gaping at Dan’s morbid discovery.

 **“It was** **_supposed_ ** **to be dessert the other night, but it was...misplaced.”**

“ _You kept a spinal cord for dessert?”_

**“It is a delicacy.”**

“It’s down the back of our sofa, that’s what it is! What the hell, V?”

**“I don’t see why you’re getting your panties in a twist, Eddie. He was a bad man and we ate his head - why should it matter if we took leftovers home with us?”**

“Oh my God, what is it about this that you don’t understand by now? The cops will _not_ care that he was a bad man, they will only care that we _ate_ him. I’ve told you before, we have to be sure that we don’t leave evidence behind that can connect us - you know, _like his spinal cord down the back of the sofa!”_

Dan was beginning to get some idea of what Eddie meant when he’d said that he really didn’t want to know any of the details about the whole ‘eating heads’ thing. He didn’t think that he could stomach it, it wouldn’t matter how much he loved the alien symbiote inside of him. “What are we going to do about this?” he asked, waggling it in front of them. “Do you still want to eat it, V?”

**“Don’t be ridiculous - it is dead now.”**

Dan frowned but it was Eddie who voiced his thoughts. “It was dead when you brought it home as a midnight snack, too!”

**“You know that a fresh kill is different, Eddie.”**

“Urgh! I give up! What the hell are we going to do with it, V? There’s _evidence_ in our apartment.”

**“We can dispose of it, quit your incessant whining.”**

“What? We’ll just walk out with it in plain sight?” Eddie drawled, voice dripping sarcasm. “Or wrap it up in brown paper and pretend that it’s a nice package from the butcher?”

**“You are being quite absurd. No, we’ll take it out the same way we brought it here in the first place - in the pocket of your hoodie.”**

“ _You put it in my hoodie?”_ he whispered in disgust.

**“You never noticed.”**

“And you didn’t bother to give me the heads up that it had been there? So I could so an extra load of washing? No, V, it is _not_ going in my hoodie again!”

 **“Fine!”** Suddenly Venom erupted, encasing Eddie within his larger form, and Dan found himself taking a step backwards. He’d only ever seen the fully formed Venom up close once before, and it was easy to forget that the small, rather cute manifestation of a head and neck that he used around the house could also turn into _this_. **“I shall carry it out in plain sight. Happy? Pussy.”**

“You’re so damned melodramatic,” Dan heard Eddie snap, the same almost echo-like quality to his voice that Venom got when he projected his own voice from inside his host.

The hulking black mass taking up the majority of the kitchen turned back to the bench, and Dan couldn’t see what he was doing, but a moment later he turned back, a cup of coffee held in his hand. **“For you. We’ll be back shortly.”** He handed over the coffee and then he went to the window, and surprisingly silently for a creature of that size, he slipped through the window.

Dan sipped at his coffee, his gaze still on the now-empty window for a long time. He finally shook himself from his daze and decided that now might be a good time to do some laundry. Oh, and probably wash his hands.

oOoOo

It was past one in the morning and Dan was beginning to regret the coffee. He turned over onto his side, thumping his pillow once or twice, and tried to get comfortable, but sleep refused to come. He turned back over, staring up at the ceiling where a wedge of light from the streetlights outside filtered in and splashed across the darkness. A part of his mind wondered if he’d be able to sleep if he was back in Annie’s bed, somewhere that was more familiar than this room that he’d been in for less than a fortnight. No, of course he wouldn’t - caffeine was caffeine no matter where he was sleeping and it was his own damn fault for having a coffee so late in the afternoon.

He sighed and idly traced a finger over his rib cage, trying to emulate the way Anne would draw patterns on his skin when he couldn’t sleep. Like everything, it was too different a sensation when doing it himself, but although it didn’t lull him to sleep, it still felt nice so he continued to do so. He stared up at the ceiling, absently stroking over his skin, and listened to the sounds around him.

It was quieter than he would have expected for an apartment building, but it wasn’t silent. He could hear the sound of water in the pipes as the people above them used the bathroom; a siren wailed in the distance; a car door shut down the road; a soft moan echoed from the room next door.

Oh.

Unable to help it, he focussed his concentration inside the apartment, wondering if he had imagined it or not, but soon he heard it again, a surprised little gasp of pleasure, followed by a throaty, distinctly _non-human_ chuckle.

He could feel his cheeks heating up and he turned over, pulling his pillow over his head, trying to give his friends some privacy. He had shared a house while in uni and so it wasn’t like he had absolutely no experience in tuning out the sounds of housemates having sex, but he’d never considered himself _friends_ with those housemates. They had been sharing the rent out of convenience, all had different interests and moved in different social circles so they were just acquaintances. But this was Eddie and Venom, his best friends…

Never able to keep his head covered for long (he needed fresh air or he got claustrophobic), he finally had to remove the pillow. He told himself that he would simply think of something else, tune out the sounds that filtered through the thin walls, and in that way he would give the couple the privacy that they deserved.

That was easier said than done, however. He tried his best to recount his surgery schedule for the upcoming week, to start to plan for the more difficult ones and troubleshoot potential complications, but that thought was derailed by another soft moan, followed by the creak of the bed. Unable to curb his curiosity, Dan allowed himself to contemplate the logistics of the romantic relationship between Eddie and Venom. He’d seen them be casually affectionate, even before he’d moved in, and had seen them kiss before, more tongue and teeth than with regular kissing but Eddie didn't seem to mind. When it came to more intimate activities, his imagination got more of a workout. Dan wasn’t stupid - he had a very high IQ, thank you very much - and he had seen Venom form tentacles to manipulate objects in much the same way that humans used their hands. He had no doubts whatsoever that those tentacles could be used for _other purposes_ as well and the blush that he could feel on his cheeks spread down his neck and chest as he imagined _that._

“Wow, Dan, creepy much?” he muttered to himself as he forced himself to think about something _other_ than his best friends fucking.

 _“Fuck, V, yeah love, like that,”_ he heard Eddie say and it was suddenly _much_ harder to think of anything else.

Due to their busy schedules, Dan and Anne hadn’t had an overly active sex life, making love only once a week if they were lucky. Thinking back, he realised that they’d not had sex since before the ‘serious conversation’ Anne had had with him about having children. In hindsight, that should probably have been a red flag. What it meant right here and now, however, was that he’d not had sex in over five weeks, and he’d not been in much of the mood to jerk off either, and suddenly his cock was taking more of an interest than it should in the sounds coming from next door. The sounds that _Eddie and Venom_ were making.

Dan had experimented with guys back in uni (hadn’t everyone?) but he didn’t consider himself bisexual or anything, and he certainly didn’t think that he was attracted to Eddie. He was a doctor, he understood how the human body worked, and it was natural that after a dry spell, any form of exposure to sensual sounds like the ones drifting through the walls would result in arousal. He’d have had the same reaction if he’d overheard some porn, or a different couple having sex. It was a perfectly normal bodily function, absolutely nothing to be ashamed about, nothing at all.

So why did he feel so guilty as he dropped his hands and ran a finger lightly up the bulge in his boxers? He cock twitched at the touch and demanded more, and he tried to resist but another moan sounded at precisely that time and he couldn’t help it. He pushed his hand under the waistband of his boxers and wrapped it around his aching cock.

He didn’t realise that he had made a noise at all until the silence of his room was broken by the needy moan that fell from his own lips. He froze and was sure that the occupants in the next room had as well.

 _“Dammit, V, try not to wake him up,”_ Eddie’s voice whispered.

**“I’m not the one moaning like a wanton whore.”**

_“Wanton whore? Have you been watching period dramas again?”_

**“Do you really want to discuss that right now or do you want me to do** **_this_ ** **again?”**

_“Fuck! Yes, yes, more of that, shit, feels so good. Ah, V, fuck!”_

Pre-come pulsed from his tip and Dan swallowed down his shame at eavesdropping on his housemates as he began to stroke himself. His balls were aching already, demanding the release that they’d been denied for over a month now, and if he was with a partner, he’d be embarrassed at the thought of getting off so damned quickly, but it was only himself and he really didn't care. His hand flew over his cock, squeezing around the crown as his fingers slid over the slick skin of the head and he used his other hand to rub his balls through the satin material of his boxers.

_“V, babe, I’m close, please, more, please, yes, yes, like that, oh, fuck love, just like th - aaaaagh!”_

Dan’s whole body convulsed as his orgasm washed over him, spurting hot ropes of come over his hand and stomach. He bit his lip hard so he wouldn’t make any noise, but from the sounds coming from the room next door, there wasn’t much chance that he’d be noticed anyway. Breathing hard, he lay there for a long moment, enjoying the aftershocks of pleasure that coursed through him, not moving to clean up until they’d passed. He threw the balled up tissues in the direction of the bin in the corner and then rolled over onto his side, trying his best to ignore the whispered sweet nothings coming through the wall.

He found that he couldn’t and he fell asleep to the sounds of Eddie and Venom murmuring their love for one another.


	8. Chapter 8

Eddie collapsed on the couch, out of breath and exhausted. “Why did I let you talk me into that?” he whined at Dan.

The doctor had the gall to just laugh at him, heading to the fridge and lobbing a Gatorade at him. “Because you didn’t get to go for most of this week and if you let your routine slip too much, well you might just find that it slips altogether.”

He groaned but knew that his friend was right. Eddie knew that he could be lazy and it wouldn’t take much at all to get out of the habit of going for a run each day. He’d finally wrapped the piece that he was doing on the nursing home but it had taken some long days and he had been dead on his feet when he’d staggered in the door on Friday afternoon. Dan had pushed him towards the bedroom, urging him to get changed and then had been relentless, not even letting him do a lap less than he usually did. “I still hate you,” he muttered.

Dan laughed again, and Eddie found himself laughing along, the sound contagious. “Go and grab a shower, I’ll start on dinner and then maybe we can all just chill in front of the T.V. tonight,” he suggested.

 **“It is my turn to pick what we watch,”** Venom announced, before licking a bead of sweat off Eddie’s brow.

“Erm, I’m pretty sure it’s actually Eddie’s,” Dan corrected him.

**“Yes, but he has terrible taste so I will pick for him.”**

“Gee, thanks, love, that’s _so_ nice of you.” Eddie poked his tongue out at his Other but he was too tired to argue over what movie they watched.

They took turns in the bathroom and Eddie grabbed them beers while Dan was showering, and they sat down on the sofa, bowls of spaghetti in their laps. Eddie didn’t pay much attention to the movies that Venom was flicking through, too busy stuffing his face with pasta to notice. The symbiote murmured with Dan, getting his opinion and when he finally chose one, Eddie was shocked to see that it was a rom com. “What the hell is this?” he asked, a string of spaghetti hanging from his mouth.

Venom ducked his head and slurped it up, his lips meeting Eddie’s in a very Lady And The Tramp way. He pulled back and licked his chops before grinning. **“It is a movie, Eddie.”**

“Yeah, I got that, but why this particular one?”

**“Dan said that it was full of romantic gestures.”**

“Uh huh, yep, I can see that. I didn’t think rom coms were your thing though - you tend to prefer action flicks.”

**“Just be quiet and watch the film, Eddie.”**

“Okay, okay, just don’t complain about _my_ taste in movies when you get bored halfway through.”

Venom however, _didn’t_ get bored halfway through. He stared at the screen, enraptured as the leading lady began to date the hot shot movie star while her best friend pined for her in secret. He complained when Eddie got up to get another drink, and made them pause it so that he didn't miss a second. He then yelled abuse at the main character when she was clearly making the wrong choice between the men, and then cheered when she and the best friend had the inevitable kiss in the pouring rain in the finale. Eddie was completely confused by the time the movie came to an end, but by this stage he was onto his third beer so maybe that was why he wasn’t sure exactly what all the fuss was about.

“Does anyone want hot chocolate?” Dan asked.

“Nah, I’m good with the beer, thanks,” Eddie told him.

“V?”

The symbiote didn’t appear to have heard him, and was staring off into space.

“Love, Dan asked if you wanted a hot chocolate,” Eddie said, poking him in the side.

Venom’s eyes focussed once more on the room around him and he sighed, morose. **“No thank you, Dan.”**

That had his host frowning. “V, what’s wrong, love? Are you not well?” He’d never known Venom to ever refuse anything with chocolate in it.

“Can he even _get_ sick?” Dan asked, stepping forward and placing a hand against the symbiote’s temple. “He doesn’t feel warmer than he normally does.”

“Hey, love, talk to me, babe - what’s wrong?”

Venom turned soulful eyes to him. **“Do** **_I_ ** **have different kinds of smiles, Eddie?”**

“What?”

**“Like in the movie?”**

“Um...you have your smile, V - it’s one of a kind.”

**“But I don’t have a different smile for when I think that you’re an idiot, or when I’m planning on eating a bad guy’s head, or when I’m making fun of humans?”**

Missing the warning look that Dan shot his way, Eddie answered with, “Um, I don’t _think_ so?”

**“Oh. Oh, okay.”**

He could tell that his Other was upset but he couldn’t figure out _why_. “I don’t think I understand what’s going on here,” he admitted.

**“It doesn’t matter.”**

“It does, V - you’re upset!”

**“That doesn’t make any difference.”**

“Make a difference? To what?”

“To the fact that you are the most unromantic man in the universe,” Dan told him pointedly.

“Huh? Wait, you want me to be _romantic?_ ” he asked his symbiote, incredulous.

**“Sometimes it would be nice, yes.”**

“Well, what do you want me to do?”

 **“If I told you, then it** **_wouldn’t be_ ** **romantic.”**

“It’s true,” Dan agreed. “Half the point is coming up with a romantic gesture in the first place.”

Feeling at an absolute loss, Eddie could only stare helplessly at Venom. "I really don’t know what I can do, love.”

 **“It’s okay, Eddie, it really doesn’t matter.”** The dejected manner in which he spoke told Eddie that it really _did_ matter, but that he simply didn't want to make a fuss.

“How about we watch another movie?” Dan suggested.

Venom agreed and so Eddie went with the status quo, but he grabbed the rest of the six pack from the fridge so he could continue drinking. He wasn’t really interested in the movie, not even taking any notice of what it was at all, he just spent the whole time thinking about his relationship with his Other.

The two of them shared absolutely everything together, there were no secrets and no boundaries. It had been inevitable that it would evolve into a romantic partnership, not only because of how fast they grew to love one another, but simply because of how intimately entwined they were. They couldn’t quite read each other’s minds but they were privy to emotions, some memories, and particularly strong feelings. Because of this, Eddie hadn’t thought that he would have to prove time and time again that he loved Venom (and really, that was the point of grand, romantic gestures, wasn’t it?). He professed his love aloud often enough, and the symbiote could read from his emotions how true it was, plus there was the matter of their physical relationship which was definitely a clear indicator of how he felt, so really, was there any need for anything else?

From the sulky silence emanating from Venom, it was clear that his Other _did_ believe that there was a need. Even Dan’s reaction supported that, but Eddie couldn’t for the life of him think of what he could do to that would count. Given that Venom’s identity had to remain a secret it wasn’t like he could take him to a nice restaurant and hide a ring in his dessert, and he couldn’t take an ad out in the paper or shout it from the rooftops. A public declaration always counted as being more romantic but that was out of the equation. He polished off the rest of the beer, his head buzzing as he considered his options.

As the movie came to an end, he finally came up with something. Determined to cheer his Other up, he found what he was looking for on his phone and then grabbed the remote and turned the T.V. off. “Right, let’s do his,” he announced.

“Do what? Dan asked, watching him nervously.

“Prove that I _can_ be romantic,” he said, giving Venom a pointed look.

 **“I said that it doesn't matter,”** Venom said with a pout, and for a moment Eddie could have sworn that he resembled a hormonal woman. He certainly didn't miss _that_ in his life.

“It matters to you, babe so it matters to me. I love you, V, and if I have to do something romantic and embarrassing to prove that to you, then so be it. Just remember, _you_ wanted this, so when you’re cringing and wishing that it were all over, you’re just getting what you asked for.”

**“Wait, what are you going to do?”**

“Why, just the most romantic thing of all time - I’m going to serenade you.”

**“But you can’t sing…”**

Eddie shrugged and then hit play on the song he’d selected, needing it in the background so he’d have even a chance of getting the tune right, especially since he was tweaking the lyrics. He slipped a hand around the back of Venom’s neck and began to sing. “ _I found a love, foooor me,_

_Darling just dive right in,_

_And follow my lead,”_

**“Oh my gosh, Eddie, stop, this is terrible.”**

He grinned as he shook his head and continued. “ _Well I found my V, fierce and brave_

_I never knew you were the someone waiting for me._

_'Cause we were just losers when we fell in love,”_

**“You can’t fit an extra syllable in there, it just doesn't work!”**

**_“_** _Not knowing what it was,”_ he kept going, and noticed that Venom’s skin had gone even shinier than usual, a sure sign that he was blushing. “ _I will not give you up this tiiiiime._

_But darling, just kiss me slow, your heart is all I own_

_And in your eyes you're holding mine.”_ He suddenly swung them around, cradling Venom close but still maintaining eye contact. “ _Baby, I'm daaaaancing in the dark with you between my arms_

_Barefoot on the grass, listening to our favorite song.”_

**“Eddie! Sounds between four and six thousand hertz are damaging to us! Cease this!”**

**_“_** _When you said you looked a mess, I whispered underneath my breath_

_You heard it, darling, you look perfect tonight.”_

If it were possible, Venom looked even more bashful now. Dan was watching them with a huge grin on his face and Eddie pushed on, trying not to let his embarrassment stop him.

_“Well I found a symbiote, stronger than anyone I know_

_He shares my dreams, I hope that someday I'll share his home_

_I found a love, to carry more than just my secrets_

_To carry love, to form a bond of our ooooown,”_

**“Eddddddie, stop!”**

_“We’re still losers, but we're so in love_

_Fighting against all odds_

_I know we'll be alright this tiiiiiime_

_Darling, just hold my hand_

_Be my Other, I'll be your man_

_I see my future in your eyes.”_

**“None of these lyrics fit, you’re butchering this song!”**

_“Baby, I'm dancing in the dark, with you between my arms_

_Barefoot on the grass, listening to our favorite song_

_When I saw you in that lab, looking so beautiful_

_I don't deserve this, darling, you look perfect tonight”_

**“Really? The lab?** **_That is not a romantic place for a meet cute_** **!”**

_“Baby, I'm dancing in the dark, with you between my arms_

_Barefoot on the grass, listening to our favorite song_

_I have faith in what I see_

_Now I know I have met a Klyntar in person_

_And he looks perfect_

_I don't deserve this_

_You look perfect tonight.”_ He dragged out the final notes and then, suddenly feeling very silly, waited for Venom to make even more fun out of him.

 **“Oh, Eddie,”** Venom whispered. **“I love you.”** And he leaned in and kissed him.

Relieved that it had had the desired impact, Eddie kissed his Other back, making sure to push down the bond every bit of love and affection that he felt for him, hoping to reassure Venom. The symbiote showed him that the message had been received by deepening the kiss and if he hadn't suppressed Eddie’s gag reflex, it would have gotten messy. A tendril came up to tangle in his hair and he found his cock growing hard in his pants. Suddenly not feeling tired at all, several ideas for how to spend the rest of the night flashed across his mind.

A polite cough broke them apart and Eddie realised that he'd forgotten that Dan was there. “Fuck, sorry,” he said, wiping his mouth of the excess saliva coating it.

The doctor was blushing and seemed unable to meet Eddie’s eyes, but he wasn’t sure why - Dan had seen them kiss numerous times and it hadn’t been all that different tonight. “I’ll uh, head to bed,” he said, edging across the room. “Let you two have some alone time.”

 **“Thank you for watching the movies with us, Dan”** Venom called after him.

“I wonder what’s up with him?” Eddie said, puzzled, watching him leave.

**“No idea. Now less talking, Eddie - your mouth has more important things to be doing.”**

“Oh, really? Like what? Kissing?”

 **“No, not kissing.”** He lowered his eyes shyly. **“Sing it again?”** he whispered.

Grinning, Eddie leaned in and kissed him. “Of course. Anything for you, babe.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The movie they were watching was Win A Date With Tad Hamilton - this is [the smile thing that Venom was going on about](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YXzryi4HrVs), and the song is Perfect by Ed Sheeran.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This fic seems to exist in a perpeptual Friday night. I swear I know that other days of the week exist, but nothing much exciting happens during those lol

Dan felt his phone vibrate in his pocket and pulled it out to see Eddie’s contact info on the screen. He excused himself from the small group of nurses who were gathered around the nurse’s station to take it. “Hey, Eddie, what’s up?”

**_“Not, Eddie - Eddie is sick!”_ **

“V? What do you mean Eddie is sick? I thought you took care of stuff like that?”

**_“Usually I can but these are too small and I can’t fight them off. What can I do? Is he dying? Will I lose Eddie?”_ **

“V, calm down, buddy, it’s going to be okay.” He glanced at his watch. “It’s not long until my shift is over and I’ll come straight home, okay. Until then, what are his symptoms?”

**“** **_He is miserable and his head isn’t working and I can feel that he just wants to die!”_ **

Dan smiled at the dramatics. “Okay, V, those aren’t quite the symptoms I’m looking for. Does he have a fever?”

**_“His core body temperature is somewhat higher than usual despite my attempts to regulate it but I do not know exactly what you would call a fever.”_ **

“Okay. Does he have a headache? Is he coughing?”

**_“His head feels like it is sluggish and there is a dull ache. His throat also aches but there is no cough.”_ **

“Right. Anything else unusual?”

**_“He is producing mucus from his nose at an alarming rate.”_ **

“Right, V, I swear, it doesn't sound serious at all - he probably just has a cold but I’ll check up on him soon.”

**_“A cold? He is not cold - he is warm!”_ **

“A cold virus - from the sounds of it, you fight off bacterial infections easily enough but a virus is much smaller and you said that whatever was making him sick was very small?”

**_“Small and nasty, yes. What can you do to cure him?”_ **

“There’s no cure for a cold, V - if there was one, I’d say it would have been _you_ , but apparently they can defeat even symbiotes.”

 **_“No cure?”_ ** He sounded astounded. **_“What do we do then?”_ **

“He needs to rest, stay hydrated, and take some Tylenol, but that’s about it.”

**_“And you’re sure that this is only a ‘cold’?”_ **

“I can’t say for sure, V, but I’ll know when I get home, okay.”

 **_“Please hurry, Dan.”_ ** There was a long pause and then he admitted in a very small voice, **_“I’m worried.”_ **

“It’ll be okay, bud - trust me. I’ll see you soon.”

**_“Bye, Dan.”_ **

He disconnected the call and headed back to the nurse’s station so he could say his goodbyes. He’d finished his rounds and he doubted anything would crop up in the final ten minutes that he had left of his shift that the duty doctor couldn’t handle. “Right, well I’m off for the night,” he told them with a big smile. “Have a fabulous weekend, ladies and gentleman, and I’ll see you all next week.”

“Wait, you’re not coming with us tonight?” one of the younger nurses, Suzie, blurted.

“I do believe, Doctor Lewis, that you said that you’d come the next time we had a night out,” the Nurse Manager, Arlene chided him.

“Oh, sorry to disappoint, but my housemate isn’t feeling the best so I promised I’d look after him.”

“Is it serious?” Suzie asked, aiming for casual but missing the mark. Dan wasn’t an idiot and he was well aware of the crush the young RN had on him, which had only seemed to intensify since word had gotten around that he had broken up with Anne.

“Probably just a cold.”

“He’ll live, won’t he? It wouldn’t hurt for you to come out for just a couple of drinks.” Suzie was being more bold than usual, and judging from the look that Arlene was throwing her, it wasn’t just obvious to Dan. He wasn’t entirely opposed to something happening between them - she was attractive, there was no denying that, with long dark hair that she wore pulled back into a bouncing ponytail, full lips that shone with lip gloss, and thick eyelashes that couldn’t possibly be real but gave her a coquettish appearance that had half the men in the hospital lusting after her. Dan wasn’t her direct supervisor so it wasn’t against hospital policy, but his heart was still healing from his breakup and he wasn’t really interested in simply a one night stand but wasn’t after anything more serious either.

“He has some other...health issues, so a cold could get complicated. Sorry, maybe next time.” She pouted and he almost caved, an image of her glossy lips wrapped around his cock dancing across his imagination, but then he recalled how distressed Venom had sounded and he couldn’t let him down. “Have a great time everyone, see you Monday,” and he waved goodbye and left before he could be tempted further.

He grimaced as he walked to the staff locker room to collect his wallet and keys; his cock had rather liked the idea of being sucked off and had decided to wake up. Walking through the hospital with a semi was really not professional and instead of storing his coat in his locker, he decided to keep it on until he got to the car. Damn, he really needed to get laid. It was almost three months now since he’d had sex and his hand was starting to not cut it. It really didn’t help matters that his roomate and his alien goo boyfriend had a ridiculously active sex life and that Dan heard them at it every second night or so. They were generally pretty quiet but sound travelled at night and once he knew what to listen for, it was almost as if Dan’s ears tuned into the sound. He’d tried his best to ignore it, but usually his will would cumple and he’d jerk off to the pornographic sounds coming from the bedroom next door. He was worried that he’d begin to develop a Pavlovian response to Eddie saying the words ‘harder’, ‘love’, or ‘oh, God’ even completely out of context and would come in his pants if they were ever uttered.

Dan knew that it was wrong to get off to Eddie and Venom having sex but he figured that it was simply a substitute for porn. He wasn’t lusting after them the other times that he saw them, and didn't try to jump either of them, or initiate anything - hell, he didn’t even think that he was attracted to them. Sure, he’d _thought_ about what it would be like to have sex with Venom (how could he _not_ after hearing how much Eddie enjoyed it), but that was just natural. He didn't want to sleep with either of them, he was pretty sure. It was simply that the sounds of them fucking generally made Dan hard as a rock and he’d jerk it like a school boy as he listened to them.

Gah! How the fuck had it come to this? He had trouble looking them in the eyes these days and if they ever found out about what he’d been doing, he was certain that they’d feel like he had betrayed their trust. Perhaps it was time to invest in some earbuds to wear so he wouldn’t unintentionally eavesdrop again, or maybe he really just needed to find someone to have some fun with of his own. That would keep his mind occupied with thoughts of someone more appropriate than his damn housemates.

By the time he reached the car, he’d decided to bite the bullet. He pulled out his phone and brought up Suzie’s contact details.

_Sorry I had to bail tonight. I’ll buy you a drink next time to make up for it - Dan_

He received a reply back almost instantly.

_I’ll hold you to that ;-) - Suzie_

Feeling somewhat more in control of his life, Dan headed for home and was soon walking through the front door, the basic kit he kept in his car in his hands. The sight that met him made his heart ache. Venom was stretched out from the bedroom and he was undulating backwards and forwards across the living room in his version of a pace. His eyes - always surprisingly expressive for two opalescent blobs - were full of worry and a large hint of fear, and he’d even manifested two tentacles and was wringing them together anxiously.

**“Dan! You’re back!”**

He crossed to the symbiote and cupped the back of his neck, giving him a soothing rub. “Yeah, buddy, I am. Sorry to keep you waiting.”

**“I don’t know what to do, Dan - he’s having trouble breathing!”**

Dan frowned and gestured for Venom to come with him into the bedroom. He turned on the bedside lamp to give him some light without blinding Eddie if he woke up and observed his friend.

Eddie looked like shit, there was no way to sugar coat it. Dan hadn’t seen him like this since that time in the restaurant, but at least there wasn’t a lobster tank involved this time. His hair was sweaty and plastered to his scalp and he had kicked off the blankets, revealing his bare chest, the tattoo darkened skin glistening with sweat. Dan couldn’t help but take a closer look at the place where Venom sprouted from his skin, inky blackness seeping out from between his ribs. He ran a finger gently over the place where they merged and he saw Venom jerk.

 **“Tickles,”** he said reproachfully.

“Sorry.” With a sheepish smile, Dan went back to his examination. Eddie’s nose was red and his breathing was laboured but that was likely because he was on his back and with congested sinuses, it would probably be running down the back of his throat. He pulled out the thermometer from his kit and pressed it into Eddie’s ear, taking a reading. It was higher than normal but not quite into fever range as yet. “Did you give him some Tylenol?” he asked, pulling out a stethoscope to listen to his chest to make sure that he wasn’t developing a chest infection.

Venom shook his head. **“I did not know what it looked like, and couldn’t find any medicine. Eddie doesn’t need it so maybe we don’t have any?”**

“That’s okay, I’ve got some here. Are you able to bring in a pitcher of water?” He nodded to the half empty glass on the bedside table. “He’ll need more than just that.”

 **“Yes, I can do that,”** and he disappeared from the room.

Eddie’s chest sounded clear and he gently shook his shoulder. “Eddie, sorry, bud, but you gotta wake up for me.” Eddie mumbled something in his sleep but didn't wake so Dan shook him a little harder. “Come on, Eddie, I need you to wake up, come on.”

Eyes blinking slowly, Eddie slowly woke up and he looked up at the doctor in confusion. “Dan? What’re you doing here?” His voice was deep and raspy, and Dan helped him to sit up.

“Looks like you’ve got a cold and Venom was worried. I just need to check you throat and get you to take some paracetamol and then you can go back to sleep.”

Venom entered the room, a pitcher of water grasped in a tentacle, his eyes widening when he saw that his host was awake. **“Eddie! You’re awake! Are you okay? How are you feeling? I was so scared, please don’t leave me!”** He dumped the pitcher on the table, sloshing some of it over the top and threw himself into Eddie’s arms, nuzzling against his throat.

“Hey, love, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.”

**“I didn't know what to do, you were feeling so miserable and I couldn’t fix it!”**

“Oh, darling, it’s just a cold. I’ll be fine.”

“He really will,” Dan assured him. “Right, open up and say ‘ah’ for me.” He checked Eddie’s throat and found although it was red and a little swollen, nothing indicated a more severe infection. “Yep, definitely appears to just be a cold.” He popped out two pills and handed them over. “Take these and if you can manage it, drink at least two glasses of water.”

Eddie nodded and did as he was told, grimacing as he swallowed. Dan packed everything away but pulled out a small tub and set it to one side. Once his patient had finished drinking the water, he helped him back down and then opened the tub. **“What is that?”** Venom asked, peering at the container.

“It’s just some Vaporub, it’ll help ease Eddie’s congestion.” He scooped some of the potent smelling ointment onto his fingers and then gestured to Eddie’s chest. “May I?”

Eddie nodded, his eyes closing. “Sure. Thanks for all of this, Dan.”

“It’s no problem at all.” He wiped the ointment off his fingers and onto Eddie’s skin and then began to smooth it out, rubbing it in. Eddie’s skin was warm and firm under his fingers, his pulse fluttering in his throat as he breathed in deeply, inhaling the scent. Dan kept the pressure firm, massaging the muscles that were tensed from struggling to get a breath through the congestion until it was all rubbed in. “Okay, get some rest, Eddie. I’ll come and check up on you in four hours and to give you some more Tylenol.”

His best friend murmured something that Dan didn’t quite hear but then he was nodding off, Venom curled against his side. **“Thank you, Dan,”** the symbiote whispered.

“Anytime, V. You get some rest too, okay?”

**“I will.”**

Dan scritched the top of Venom’s head, loving the way that his eyes closed like a cat, and then he turned off the lamp and went to check out the supplies that they had. He was sure that Eddie would enjoy a honey and lemon drink when he woke up, and when he found that they didn't have any of the things he’d need for that, Dan grabbed his keys and headed down to the nearest store. It might not have been the most exciting way to spend a Friday night, and it wasn’t as social as being out with work colleagues, but he found that he didn't mind at all, if it meant that it would make his best friends more comfortable.


	10. Chapter 10

Venom was bored. Eddie was sleeping, _again_ , and although he was no longer worried (Dan assured him that the human body was more than adept at fighting off a cold virus, and resting was integral to that), he was beginning to get fidgety. Not that Venom would ever in his six hundred million years have described himself as _fidgety_ before. He had spent eons between hosts in the past, hibernating amongst the hive as they travelled through space - doing nothing was par for the course for a Klyntar, and yet here on Earth, it was different. He was so used to being constantly entertained now, having something to do to occupy every waking hour, whether it be watching Netflix, watching Eddie, talking to Dan, fucking Eddie, eating bad guys, hanging out with Eddie, or any one of a thousand other things that stimulated his mind and kept him occupied.

Friday night he had slept fitfully next to his host, waking every now and then to ensure that he had not deteriorated, or when Dan had come in to check on him. On Saturday he had spent the morning watching Netflix, the volume turned down low, and when Eddie had woken around noon, they had spent several hours watching together and cuddling. Eddie had slept on and off for the rest of the day and night, and this morning he had woken in time to join them for breakfast but had tired quickly and had gone for a nap. Venom had nothing left in his queue to watch, he’d grown bored of the internet, and quite frankly, he was sick of staring at the same four walls of the bedroom.

After double checking that his host was resting comfortably, Venom left the bedroom. He was unable to close the door entirely behind him due to the tendril that kept them ever connected, but Dan, as ever, was a courteous housemate and didn’t make much noise so it was unlikely that Eddie would be disturbed. He decided that he would have a snack and went into the kitchen to raid their large stash of chocolate. He selected three large bars and took them into the living room where he found the doctor sitting on the sofa, a book in hand.

“Hey, Venom,” Dan greeted him with quiet enthusiasm. “How’s he doing?”

**“Asleep. Again. But he seems better.”**

“He’ll be up and about in no time, buddy.”

**“I hope so - I am bored.”**

Dan chuckled and patted the cushion next to him. “Feel free to keep me company if you like.”

**“Are you not reading? I do not want to disturb you.”**

He closed the book and placed it on the coffee table. “To be honest, I’m not really feeling it.” He shrugged. “One of the main characters is a little too much like Annie for me to really get into the plot.”

Venom felt the familiar surge of anger go through him at the mention of Annie. He had liked the lawyer for a long time, had enjoyed her company, and considered her an ally. The fact that she had intimate knowledge of what it was like to bond with a Klyntar had appeared to encourage the kinship between her and Eddie and had made his human feel not so alone. He had never expected that one day he would seethe with anger at the mere mention of her name, but she had earned Venom’s wrath.

It wasn’t even the way that she had treated Dan that had made him so angry, though that certainly was part of it. The doctor was kind and funny and caring and a good friend and he had deserved better than to be treated so. It was what she’d done to Eddie, however, that had been the final nail in her coffin. Upon learning that Dan had moved in with the bonded couple, she had slowly but surely retreated from his life. It was subtle, and she’d never come out and said that she was upset that both her exes were now living together, but she distanced herself nonetheless. At first she just cancelled or postponed their regular coffee dates, then she’d not bothered making a next date like usual, just said that she’d be in touch when her schedule cleared, and then she’d just simply stopped replying to their texts.

Eddie had been sad when he’d realised what had happened, and Dan had been mortified. He’d offered immediately to move out, saying that he hadn’t meant to come between their friendship, but neither Eddie nor Venom had wanted that. Dan was their friend too and they didn’t think it fair of Anne to make them chose, especially if she wasn’t coming out and just saying it. Passive aggressiveness wasn’t normally one of her identifying traits but for some reason she was engaging in the tactic when it came to her exes.

Truth be told, if he’d had to make the choice, Venom was sure that he would have chosen Dan anyway. Not only did the doctor cook all the foods that Venom liked, simply because he _knew_ that the Klyntar enjoyed them, but he actually spoke to Venom, whereas Anne had a tendency to speak to Venom _through Eddie_. Dan had proved that he was a loyal friend, and he laughed at the couple’s antics. He hadn't freaked out when he’d found the spinal cord down the back of the sofa, and he didn't judge them for ‘eating out’ as Eddie put it. No, he was kind, and generous, and handsome, and he was the only person besides Eddie who ever willingly touched him. Not that many people knew of his existence, but those who did kept their distance. Yes, he was definitely the better choice of friend.

All these thoughts flitted through Venom’s mind as he climbed up onto the couch and he was overcome with a sudden desire to show Dan exactly how much he liked him. He decided that he should go big or go home and so he reached out and offered something that he would only ever offer to one other human - Eddie.

**“Would you like some chocolate?”**

oOoOo

Eddie felt like shit but compared to how he’d been feeling for the past couple of days, it was a vast improvement. He’d never been a sickly person, but since he’d bonded with Venom, other than the initial feverish reaction to their merging, he’d not been sick once. Having an alien symbiote acting as his immune system had spoiled him though, and he felt like he’d been hit harder than usual with this cold. Or perhaps it was simply that it had been so long since he’d had a cold that he’d forgotten how miserable it made you. What had he heard people say before? A cold won’t kill you but you’ll feel like you want to die. It had been true in his case and he’d luckily slept through the worst of it.

Now he was awake though, properly, for the first time since he’d come down with the symptoms. He was also alone in bed, if you didn't count the thin tendril of black that stretched away from him and out the door. He could feel through the bond that Venom was feeling happy and content but other than that, all he knew for sure was that he wasn’t here with him. He didn't blame his Other for finding something else to do. He would have gotten cabin fever if he’d been stuck in the same room, conscious and alert for almost three days.

Eddie got up and wrapped the blanket around his shoulders before following the tendril out of the room to find his Other. He was hungry and he figured he deserved a snack, and given that he’d been sick, Venom might even let him eat half of it, instead of stealing almost all of it himself. He walked into the living room and stopped dead, not at all prepared for what he saw before him.

Dan was sitting on the sofa, a crossword puzzle perched on the arm, and Venom was in his lap, eyes closed in bliss as the doctor stroked up and down what passed for his back. Even from here, Eddie could hear the soft, chittering noise that the symbiote made when he was truly happy - a sound that he’d never made in front of anyone but his host before.

“Hmm, I think you’ll get this one,” Dan murmured, not noticing Eddie in the doorway. “Six letter word for ‘eat voraciously’, third letter is a V.”

Venom opened his eyes and grinned. **“V is the best letter.”**

“It’s definitely one of the better ones. What do you think the word is?”

The symbiote thought for a moment and then his grin was back, bigger this time, and he moved his face close to Dan’s, his tongue coming out to lick a stripe up his face. In a tone befitting a Bond villain, he growled, **“Devour.”**

Dan’s nose wrinkled and he wiped at his face while Venom laughed. “Was the demonstration really necessary?”

**“Not a demonstration - we would never eat you.”**

“I’m honoured that I don’t make the menu. Right, so thirty four down is Devour. We’re almost done. You’re good at these, V.”

 **“You are not so bad yourself,”** he replied, and then he sank back down onto Dan’s lap, a thin tendril snaking up to find the doc’s hand to pull it down, unsubtly. Dan chuckled and began stroking him once more as he read out the next crossword clue.

Eddie took a step back into the hallway, needing a moment to think. What he had just seen was unprecedented and he wasn’t entirely too sure how to feel about it. He couldn’t deny that he was a little hurt - neither of them had noticed he was there, and Venom should have been alerted via their bond that he was awake. The fact that he hadn’t meant that he was entirely engrossed in what he was doing. Being sick had already given Eddie a big dose of Feeling Sorry For Himself and this wasn’t helping matters. On the other hand, it was proof that his plan to encourage Venom to have a life and friends outside of Eddie was clearly working. Their interactions showed that they were both perfectly comfortable in each other’s presence without Eddie being around, and he was proud of his Other for taking that step.

What had startled him the most, however, was the touches, and that lick. His stomach had churned a little at the sight and he realised with a start that he was jealous. He didn’t think of himself as the possessive type - that was more Venom’s domain - but still, he’d thought that he was the only one that the symbiote treated in such a manner. He had absolutely no problem with Dan petting Venom, in fact, he’d always thought it was adorable the way that he would casually scritch the top of his head. No, what was upsetting him was not only the lick (he was intimately acquainted with that tongue and it was hard to see it being used with affection on someone else without remembering exactly what it was capable of) but the fact that Venom had urged Dan to continue touching him, had made his odd purring noise to show that he was in bliss at the touch.

Was Venom growing bored with him? It was bound to happen sooner or later - Eddie was a loser, they both acknowledged that fact, and of course he would cease to be enough for the Klyntar eventually. Why would he stick around and be bored by Eddie’s antics when there was someone like Dan around. Annie had certainly thought that it was an upgrade and Eddie was inclined to agree. Dan was intelligent, kind, successful, generous, and fun to be around. It was inevitable really and Eddie couldn’t even be mad at Dan since he couldn’t help how awesome he was.

His throat grew tight as he imagined how empty he would feel once Venom was gone and he crouched over in the hallway, trying not to sob. His chest ached and he felt hollow, but this was only a weak echo of what reality would be like. Eddie still had nightmares about the days after the Life Foundation incident when he thought that he was alone, but it would be much, much worse this time. He’d fallen in love with Venom and so it wouldn’t just be the loss of their symbiotic bond that would maim his heart, but the loss of his true love.

He curled in on himself, trying to contain his anguish but strong emotions always projected across their connection and he felt the instant that Venom was alerted to his distress. **“Eddie?”** Venom called and suddenly he was at his side. **“Eddie? What’s wrong? Why does your heart hurt? Dan, come quick, there is something wrong with Eddie’s heart!”**

“No, V, it’s fine, there’s nothing wrong with me, I’m fine.”

“If you were fine, you wouldn’t be on the floor,” Dan said, hurrying over and kneeling beside him. He took hold of Eddie’s wrist, his cool fingers pressing against his pulse. He was silent as he counted, eyes on his watch, and then he looked up, concern in his big brown eyes. “Your heart rate is elevated,” he murmured, and then he peered into Eddie’s eyes, and his hands were suddenly on his neck, pressing and checking the glands there.

Eddie’s skin was warm and Dan’s cool hands felt so nice but still, he pulled away from his touch. “‘m fine, Dan, stop worrying.”

**“Eddie is not fine! What’s wrong?”**

The concern in his Other’s voice was too much and he pushed himself to his feet, draging the blanket behind him. “I’m just tired. I’m gonna head back to bed and I’ll let you both get on with whatever it was that you were doing.” He turned and staggered back to the bedroom, falling onto the bed face first and hugging a pillow to him.

A moment later the door closed and then he was being blanketed by the warm mass of the symbiote.

 **Eddie, please, tell me what’s wrong?** Venom spoke inside his head.

_It’s nothing, V, really._

**I know when you’re lying, Eddie. You cannot hide from me.**

It was true, and he also knew that Venom could be like a dog with a bone when he wanted to be. He wasn’t going to let this go. Eddie sighed and knew that he couldn’t put this off until later. A part of him had hoped that he could cling to their bond a little longer, that he could pretend that he was all that Venom would ever need, but it looked like it was going to end sooner rather than later. _Dan would be a much better host for you,_ he said miserably. _You should bond with him._

There was a shocked silence and then he felt Venom melt into the skin of his back before seeping out the other side. Eddie felt himself lift up off the bed as Venom formed under him and strong arms wrapped around him. **What is this about, Eddie? You know that you are my perfect host, no one could ever be better than you.**

_Maybe on a molecular level, but for everything else? Dan is the much better choice. He could make you so happy._

**Dan does make me happy - he is a good friend. But you, Eddie, are my love and I would never replace you.**

_But you could do so much better._

**_Stop saying that!_ ** he roared in their mind. **No one is better than you, Eddie. What has brought this on? You have not appeared unhappy with our bond? Am I not giving you everything you need?**

 _Oh, V, you give me_ **_everything_ ** _I need. I worry that I’m not giving_ **_you_ ** _everything that_ **_you_ ** _need._

 **I only need you, Eddie.** He flipped them over so Eddie was underneath him and his large eyes looked down at him. **Please do not think such things again. It is painful when you doubt our love.**

_I never want to hurt you, V, I swear, I just want you to be happy._

**I am happy. With you.**

A rush of emotions was pushed through the bond and Eddie was completely overwhelmed with love from his Other. He suddenly felt silly for ever doubting Venom, but he also felt guilty about dragging their best friend into his mess of emotions. _I’m sorry, love. You must think that I’m the biggest idiot._

**The thought did cross our mind, but we still love you.**

_Love you too, V._ He groaned. _God, what Dan must think of me…_

**Dan is merely concerned about his best friend. He cares very much for us.**

_I know_. He felt terrible for involving Dan in his neurosis.

**He is a good man.**

_The best._

**He is also going to be making dinner soon.**

Eddie laughed. _I won’t let you miss dinner, love._

 **That is good as that would be unforgivable.** He nuzzled at Eddie’s jaw, and his tongue came out to lick over his throat. **How are you feeling? Truthfully?**

_I’m still not well but I’m better._

**Will you come and help us with the crossword? You are much better with words than we are.**

_Sure thing, V. I’d love to help._


	11. Chapter 11

Dan gave a little squeeze around the head of his cock and bit back a gasp as he came, spurting hot come over his hand and stomach. He was breathing heavily as he came down from his orgasm, the sounds of Eddie and Venom still fucking drifting through the wall.

_“Harder, V, come on, babe, own me, wanna feel it, fuck, so good.”_

**_“Mine, Eddie, all mine.”_ **

_“Shit, yes, like that, fuck V, fill me up, oh fuck.”_

Once he had regained some of his senses, he flung an arm out to grab the box of tissues he kept nearby, and reached for one - only to find that it was empty. _“_ Oh, you’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” he muttered. He sat up, turning on the lamp and stared forlornly at the empty box. It had been full only just last week but his housemates had been going at it every night since Eddie had recovered from his cold and Dan found that he just couldn’t resist silently joining in. There were some mornings when he was overcome with shame to be using his friends as free porn, and he was unable to meet their gaze over the breakfast table, and he would vow that that would be the last time. Then he’d be lying in the dark, trying to fall asleep and he’d hear them, and all his good intentions would go out the window as his cock grew plump and demanded attention.

His eyes searched the room for anything he could use to clean himself up with but he cringed at the thought of using an item of clothing, and so there was nothing for it - he would have to make a quick dash down the hall to the bathroom. He turned the lamp off just in case and opened his door to peer out into the hallway. It appeared deserted and the apartment had fallen silent, so he quietly tiptoed down towards the bathroom, clad only in his boxers. He spun around and froze as he heard something move, but after listening intently for a moment, he deemed that it had come from one of the neighbouring apartments. He turned back around and went to step into the bathroom when the light flickered on and he found himself face to face with Eddie. He quickly hid his come smeared hand behind his back and plastered the most nonchalant expression that he could muster on his face. “Oh, sorry, I’ll just wait for you to finish,” he said.

Eddie was wide eyed and looked shifty and Dan’s eyes were pulled downwards against his will. HIs best friend’s bare chest was striped with white and it took a moment to realise that it wasn’t the light playing against the non-tattooed skin, but was his own ejaculate. Dan jerked his eyes up only to find that Eddie was staring back at his own chest, seeing almost the exact same mess splashed across him.

“Erm…”

“Shit, did you hear?”

“No, did _you_ hear?”

“Uh, no…”

“Oh, good.”

“Yeah, yeah, that’s good.”

“Okay, well, um, I’ll just grab a flannel and head back to bed.”

“Uh, sure, yep, I’ll do the same.”

“Right, well, um, goodnight.”

“Yeah, yeah you too. Um, sleep well?”

“Uh huh.”

“Okay.”

“Right, well…”

“Yes, okay then.”

They hurried back to their own rooms and Dan fell onto his bed, blushing furiously. He was absolutely mortified and there was no way that Eddie would believe that he hadn’t heard them. Shit, was he lying too? Had he heard that whine that had escaped Dan’s throat? The breathy little moan as he’d come? Shit, fuck, shit! He’d know, he’d just _known_ that jerking it to the sound of his housemate and his alien boyfriend was going to come back and bite him in the ass. How awkward was this going to make things?

He quickly cleaned himself up and then slipped back into bed, sure that his flaming cheeks were lighting up the night sky like a damn beacon calling aid to Gondor. He tossed and turned for hours, and eventually fell asleep just before dawn.

oOoOo

Dan had slept through his alarm and by the time he got up, already late for his shift, Eddie and Venom had left for the day. He considered it a blessing in disguise, not quite ready yet to either have a very awkward conversation about what had happened, or just as awkwardly ignore the entire incident and pretend that it had never happened. While the latter sounded like the easier option, it would likely just draw out the entire situation and make things uncomfortable between the three of them.

He hurried to get ready for work, phoning in to let them know that he’d been delayed, but luckily he had no surgeries planned for the morning, just a grant funding meeting for the charity project that he was a board member of. He slipped into the meeting room only five minutes late but everyone was still just milling around, drinking coffee and chatting. He grabbed himself a cup and then sat down just as the director called the meeting to order.

They spent the next two hours discussing the various grants that they had been applying for and the progress that they had made. The committee had several projects that they were working on, and the one that Dan was most passionate about was providing free transitional surgeries to teenagers who didn’t have the right health insurance to cover the costs on their own. His colleague, Doctor Wagner was their resident specialist and Dan often volunteered his assistance in his surgeries. He’d successfully applied for several small grants through various organisations that would keep the project running for at least another six months, but he was currently applying to Stark Industries for one of their charitable grants, which would see it funded for the next two years. He’d been worried that they wouldn’t even consider the proposal considering that the committee had already received funding for a project that Dawson and Raja were heading, but from the discussions so far, it seemed promising.

“Right, last thing on the agenda is grant acquittals from last financial year,” Director Karlsson said, and everyone around the table groaned. “I know, I know, it’s no one’s favourite task but if we want the money, we have to do the acquittals, people. We’ve still got five outstanding - Doctor Lewis is the only one to have completed all of his.” He gave him a grateful nod, and Dan busied himself fiddling with his pen, hating being the centre of attention. “They need to be done by the end of the week so you need to get busy.”

 _“What?”_ Dawson cried. “That’s only three days!”

Karlsson didn’t look at all sympathetic. “You’ve had months to get them done, it’s not my concern if you’re unable to manage your time as well as some of your other colleagues. Now I expect them on my desk by close of business Friday and with that, I’m calling this meeting to a close.”

There was the general murmur amongst the group as the gathered up papers and prepared to leave. Dan was just heading for the exit when he was cornered by Dawson and Raja. “Lewis, you’ve gotta help us,” Dawson said desperately, with very little of his usual swagger. “Neither of us are any good at these sorts of things.”

Dan pursed his lips. By ‘these sorts of things’ he assumed Dawson meant the menial, nitty gritty tasks. Both he and Raja were somewhat considered amongst particular hospital staff to be celebrities and they embraced that persona. They were the first to smile for the camera, enjoyed the spotlight, and liked to make bold statements about the cutting edge work that they performed. Of course, when it came to the real work behind the show, they preferred to fob it off to underlings, finding it beneath them. Apparently they considered Dan to be one of their underlings too. “It’s not exactly brain surgery, Dawson,” he said, but it didn’t have anywhere near the snideness that he’d intended, instead coming out as gently chiding. Curse his mother for instilling in him a sense of politeness!

“Yeah, but you have a knack for it,” Raja cajoled. “Come on, man, do us a favour, yeah? It’d really help us out, we’ve got so much on right now.”

He frowned at this, knowing that neither had surgeries lined up today either as all the theatres were being used for student training. “Like what?”

“We’ve got a big meeting this afternoon,” Dawson told him. “It’s urgent and we can’t miss it.”

Before he could point out that surely he would have heard about a meeting if it was that important, Raja was already pressing on. “Come on, Lewis, be a pal? It’d really help us out. We’d owe you one.”

Dan had already lost count of how many favours that these two owed him, but he was beginning to cave. He really didn’t have much on today and he _did_ have the acquittal process down pat. He’d fly through it in a quarter of the time that his colleagues would, plus it would give him an idea of what Stark Industries required to wrap up a grant which would help if his application was successful. “Oh, alright then, I suppose I can help you out.”

“Knew we could count on you,” Dawson said, in a rather condescending tone. “Email it through to me once you’re done so I can add our signatures to it.”

Raja nodded at him and then they turned and hurried off before Dan could even begin to second guess his decision. Damn it, he was too much of a push over. He’d always been known as ‘the nice guy’ and most of the time that helped him connect with people and work well with them, but it also meant that he had trouble saying no. He sighed, not really seeing any way that he could take back his agreement and he made his way to his small office.

It took him most of the rest of the day to trawl through the paperwork that had been collated to realise that something was majorly wrong. The money had been spent but the invoices and receipts that they had weren’t matching up. He headed for Dawson’s office but he wasn’t there. One of the admin assistants, Terina, was nearby and he headed her way. “Hey, Terina, any idea where Dawson is? Or Raja?”

“Oh, they’ve headed out for a meeting.”

“They’re not back yet?”

“No. Their meetings always seem to take forever.”

“Wait, how often do they have meetings?”

She shrugged. “Once or twice a week usually.”

He frowned. “What sort of meetings?”

“Dunno. I can get you Dawson’s diary if you need it?”

“Uh, yeah, actually, that would be handy. I’m helping them with the Stark Industries grant acquittal so that’ll help me marry up a few things. Any idea if he keeps hard copies of his paperwork anywhere? There’s quite a bit missing.”

“Hmm, let me see.” She headed into his office and rummaged around for a bit and finally found a folder stuffed full of paperwork which she gave to him, along with an old school diary. “Just drop them back to me when you’re done.”

“Thanks for that.” He headed back to his own office and began delving deeper into the paperwork trail, checking and cross checking everything that he did. It was several hours later and nearing eight in the evening when he finally came to the only conclusion that he could - something dodgy was going on. He’d found enough paperwork to submit the acquittal but he’d unearthed more questions than he’d answered. Where the hell were his colleagues going on a regular basis that took up so much time? Why hadn't the director noticed their absences? And had the grant money _really_ been spent on what it was intended for? He did know one thing for sure however- he was out of his depth and he needed an expert.

The front door to the apartment swung shut behind him, startling Eddie and Venom who were on the couch. His housemate looked over at him, an extra casual expression on his face after their awkward midnight meeting, but Dan didn’t have time for worrying about such trivial things right now. “Eddie,” he announced, “I think think I have a story for _The Brock Report_.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not entirely sure if grants work the same way in Aus as they do here but fingers crossed. Also, I apologise for the number of times I used the word 'acquittal' in this chapter :/


	12. Chapter 12

Eddie flipped through the paperwork that Dan had brought home, looking it over with a trained eye. By itself, it wasn’t exactly evidence that his best friend’s colleagues were rorting the system; it could possibly just be that they were totally inept, but coupled with the odd behaviour and irregular meetings, it was definitely worth looking into. Back in New York he had investigated a case where the Russian mob had been using a hospital to harvest organs for the black market and it was possible that this was something along those lines. He said as much and saw Dan sigh with relief. “I was starting to think that maybe I was just being paranoid.”

“Nah, I don’t think so. I mean, it might be nothing, but if it turns out to be something and you didn’t do anything? You’d kick yourself.”

The doc nodded. “So, what do we do next then?”

“Is it okay if I scan these documents so we have a copy? I’m guessing you’ll need to get the originals back?”

“Yeah, Terina will kill me if I don’t return them.”

“Okay, well, I’ll do that first but don’t worry – if it does turn out to be nothing, I’ll have them destroyed.”

“Right, well while you do that, I’m gonna grab some food – I’m starving. You want anything?”

Eddie went to refuse but Venom popped out and replied for them. **“Yes, please!”**

“Dammit, V – you’re gonna make us fat,” Eddie complained as he booted up the scanner.

 **“We have a healthy metabolism,”** his Other argued petulantly.

“Yeah, with those abs you’re definitely not fat,” Dan added, sounding distracted as he rummaged in the fridge. Eddie froze and a moment later Dan’s brain seemed to catch up with what his mouth had said and he looked up in horror. “Um, not that I was looking last night!” he hurried to add. “I meant that in a total professional way!”

Venom turned his head and peered at Eddie. **“Why are you blushing, Eddie?”**

“Um, no reason…”

**“Dan was simply speaking the truth. I’d never allow you to get unhealthy.”**

“I know you wouldn’t mean to, V, but sometimes love can blind us to reality.”

**“What do you mean?”**

“Well, you kinda think I’m perfect -”

 **“You** **_are_ ** **perfect!”**

“-and well, what you think is perfect might not be what’s medically ideal.”

Venom’s eyes narrowed at Eddie and then he swung around on his serpentine neck to face Dan. **“Dan - you are the medical expert! Is Eddie perfect?”**

Both Eddie and Dan choked at this and neither could look the other in the eye. “Um, well, that’s a complicated question,” Dan tried to deflect, his cheeks flushing a dark red.

**“How is it complicated?”**

“Well, there’s all sorts of tests and examinations to be done when checking someone to ensure that they’re, well, as healthy as can be.”

**“You mean perfect.”**

“Perfect isn’t really part of medical terminology, V.”

**“Then your terminology is lacking.”**

“If you say so.” Dan had learned quickly when not to bother arguing with the symbiote.

“God, love, can we please drop this now?” Eddie begged.

 **“Not until you believe that you are, in ‘medical terms’ -”** he had manifested two small hands so he could do air quotes because he was a sarcastic little shit, **“- as healthy as can be. Now take off your clothes so Dan can examine you.”**

Both men choked again, and Eddie had to pound at his own chest to try and dislodge the saliva that he’d inhaled. “Fucking hell, V! You can’t just say things like that!” he exclaimed.

**“He is a doctor - he needs access to your body to examine you.”**

He was sure that his cheeks were probably as red as Dan’s were and that the doc wanted the ground to swallow him up just as much as Eddie did. If this conversation had happened even two days ago, Eddie would probably have just laughed it off, maybe even theatrically stripped off his shirt as a joke, but it was different now. All Eddie could picture was Dan, clad only in his boxers, looking well fucked and covered in come. He wasn’t entirely sure why he was having a hard time clearing that image from his mind but until he could, he really didn’t want to be half naked around his best friend if he could help it. That might lead to an even more embarrassing and awkward moment. “V, it’s not polite to make demands of people outside of their jobs. If we get that concerned about it, we’ll book in with a general practitioner to have a medical done.”

**“But Dan has looked after us up till now so why would we go to someone else? He has not appeared to be unhappy about helping us before. What has changed?”**

Lord, how did he even answer that when he didn’t even know the answer himself? So what if he had evidence that Dan had jerked it during the night - he was human and it was normal for people to do that. It wasn’t like it was anything shameful or dirty, so why was he having trouble meeting his friend’s eyes? He’d not heard anything so that meant that Dan probably hadn’t heard he and Venom at it either, so why was he suddenly feeling like a fourteen year old boy whose mother had found a crusty sock in his room?

Dan was the one to break the uncomfortable silence that had stretched out, his tone one of complete professionalism. “V, if Eddie wants me to give him a medical, then I’m happy to do it, just as I’m always happy to help you both out. Just maybe not tonight? It’s already late and we need to get these documents scanned so I can return them tomorrow. Okay?”

 **“Okay, Dan,”** Venom gave in. He leaned in and nuzzled against Eddie’s cheek. **“You** **_should_ ** **believe me when I say that you’re perfect though, Eddie. Perfect for me, don’t need a doctor to tell us that.”**

“Thanks, love.” He turned his face so he could plant a kiss on his Other’s cheek and then he rubbed his hands together. “Right, let’s get this scanning done.”

**“And then we have our second dinner.”**

Eddie sighed but didn’t argue.

oOoOo

 **“Eddie,”** Venom cooed. **“Edddddddie.”**

He rolled over onto his bed and stared at the dark ceiling above him, resigning himself to not getting any sleep until Venom was ready for him to. _Yes, love?_ he asked in his head.

**“Want you, Eddie. Want to feel you, show you how perfect you are.”**

_I don’t think that’s a great idea tonight, V._

**“Why not?”** His tongue came up to lick across Eddie’s throat, pressing on his pulse point in the way that he knew always got his host hard.

_Nnngh, shit, stop that, V, you know I can’t think properly when you do that._

**“Why do you need to think? Just let me love you, Eddie.”**

_Please, can you talk to me in my head?_

**“Why? You love it when I talk out loud at home.”**

_I know, usually I do, but we gotta remember that we have someone else living here now. We have to be quiet._

**“Since when?”** He pushed images of Eddie writhing on the bed, ass stuffed full of a thick tendril as he moaned around the symbiote’s tongue.

_Fuck, I know, love, I know, but the more I think about it, the more I’m sure Dan must have heard us._

Luckily, Venom began to converse internally. **And?**

_And? And that’s probably the last thing that he wants to hear at night!_

**Why? Eddie sounds good when he moans.**

He bit back a groan of frustration. If Venom asked _why_ one more time, he was going to strangle him. _I sound good to you, V, but other people don’t feel comfortable when they can hear their friends having sex._

**He would have said if he was uncomfortable, would he not?**

_God, probably not. You know Dan - he’s too polite for his own good._

**There is no way to tell for certain if he heard, Eddie. In fact, he specifically said that he** **_didn’t_ ** **hear us last night. Until we have proof, why should we change anything?**

He reached up and rubbed at his eyes. _He’s not been able to look at us, V, it’s clear that he’s uncomfortable. I think that he was just lying so we wouldn’t be embarrassed._

**I don’t understand - Dan wouldn’t lie to us, Eddie.**

_It’s not a bad lie, V, more of a white lie._

**A white lie? I did not realise that lies were colour coded.**

Christ, how did you explain something like that? _They’re not, usually. White lie is just a term people use when you’re untruthful specifically for the purpose of not hurting someone’s feelings, or making them feel bad or uncomfortable. It’s kind of a polite lie._

**Humans are odd.**

_Yeah, babe, we are. I just think that the way Dan is acting, and knowing how sound travels in these apartments, that he probably_ **_did_ ** _hear us and I think it would be best if we just took a break for tonight._

There was a long moment while his Other considered this. **Eddie?**

_Yes, V?_

**Dan was** **_also_ ** **cleaning up last night.**

_Yeah, and?_

**Is it possible that he heard us...and he liked it?**

Fuck, that thought hadn't even crossed Eddie’s mind. He’d been told by previous lovers that he sounded like a porn star during sex, unable to keep quiet if his life depended on it. Had that been what Dan had gotten off to? The sound of Venom fucking Eddie to within an inch of his life?

His cock twitched at the thought and he was horrified to realise that he wasn’t exactly put off by the idea. He’d always had a bit of a voyeuristic streak and it was definitely perking up and showing an interest.

But that was wrong on _so_ many levels! Dan was his best friend, now housemate as well, he’d only recently broken up with Annie, who was _also_ Eddie’s ex, plus he’d never said that he was bi or pan so did he even like men in that way? Was it just the sounds in general and not the specifics that he’d gotten off to? _If_ that’s what had actually happened.

**Well?**

He closed his eyes, even though it wouldn’t hide him from Venom. _Maybe_ , he admitted.

**You do not seem to mind so very much.**

He sighed. _I don’t really know how I feel about it, love. I’ll need some time to think about that and what it means._

 **Take all the time in the world.** A tendril tenderly trailed down over his stomach before wrapping around Eddie’s awakening cock. **In the meantime, let’s give him something to listen to.**

Eddie didn’t stay quiet for much longer.


	13. Chapter 13

It was Thursday and Dan looked furtively up and down the hospital hallway, making sure that the coast was clear. When he was sure that no one was about, he gestured to Eddie to follow him and led him down the hallway and into an empty examination room. “That’s Dawson’s office down there,” he explained, sliding his fingers between the blinds and nodding at the room across and just down from where they were.

“And the meeting is scheduled for eleven?”

“Yeah, according to his diary. Terina says that Raja usually meets Dawson at his office and then they go from there.”

Eddie hummed. “Does she have _any_ idea of where they go?” 

Dan sighed, annoyed that they had so little to go on. “No, none at all. There were no parking receipts or anything amongst the paperwork so we don’t even know how far they’re travelling to get to the meetings.”

“Okay, well, I can work with that. I’ve got the bike and I’m pretty good at following people without them realising it.”

“Alright, well I’ll leave you to it then. I’ll have my phone on me if you need me so just call.”

“Will do.”

Dan cracked the door and peaked out of it but the hallway was empty except for an orderly down the other end so he slipped out and tried to act casual as he sauntered away. His heart was thumping loudly in his chest and his body was thrumming with adrenaline and he wondered if this is how Eddie always felt during his investigations. He felt more alive than he’d done in a long time, not even getting a rush like this anymore even during the most complicated of surgeries. It would be easy to get addicted to the feeling, and he understood why his best friend was so dedicated to his job.

He checked in on two of his patients, then headed to the nurse’s station to update the schedule for them, pulling his phone out to check that he hadn’t missed a call.

“Waiting for a text from your girlfriend?” a voice asked from behind.

Dan turned around to see Suzie there, leaning over the high desktop, her arms folded in front of her, pushing her breasts up so that they almost popped out of the V of her scrubs. “Oh, hey, um, no, no girlfriend, just waiting on a call from a friend.”

She smiled in satisfaction at this news. “I guess that means that there’s no one to keep you home tomorrow night so you can come out with us.”

“Oh, well, I’m not sure if I have anything else on, so I’d have to check.” It would all depend on what Eddie uncovered today and if they’d be staking out the two suspicious surgeons again.

Her glossy lips tugged down into a frown, but her tone was teasing. “Careful, Doctor Lewis, if you keep on breaking your promises, none of us are gonna trust you.”

He smiled at her reassuringly. “If I can’t make tomorrow night, I’ll definitely be there for the next one, I swear.”

“You’ll regret it if you don’t,” she said sweetly. “I can _guarantee_ that you’ll have a great time if you come.”

His phone buzzed in his pocket and he threw her an apologetic look. “I’m sorry but I really have to take this. I’ll let you know about tomorrow, okay?” She nodded, looking disappointed and he walked away as he answered. “Hello?”

 _“So, uh, this is unexpected,”_ Eddie said in greeting.

“What is?”

_“They’ve not left the hospital.”_

“Oh? Maybe the meeting was cancelled? Can you slip out of the room without them noticing?”

_“No, that’s not what I meant. They left Dawson’s office and I followed them, but they’ve not left the grounds. They’ve headed down into the sub basement levels.”_

“What? Why would they do that? What could possibly be down there?”

_“No idea. Wanna check it out with me? It’ll be better if you’re with me if I’m caught; we can say that I’m a maintenance contractor or something. Besides, the door requires a keycard to get through and I don’t have one.”_

“Yeah, that makes sense. Where are you?”

_“Down the end of the hall from the morgue, near the storage units.”_

“Right, I’ll be there in five.”

Dan found Eddie leaning against the wall of the hallway and he pushed himself up straight when he saw the doc. “You won’t be missed?” he asked.

Dan shook his head. “I just said that I was going to lunch. I’ve got at least an hour before anyone notices that I’m missing and comes looking for me.”

“Awesome, well let’s go and see what these two are up to.”

They moved down to the door that led through to the service area beyond the hallway and Dan swiped his card through the reader. The door clicked open and they went through, Dan following Eddie’s lead and walking calmly and confidently, like he was perfectly entitled to be in the area so that no one would question them if they were seen. They passed several rooms on the way, and they checked each one, finding them full of old machinery and equipment, tools, and stacks of archive boxes, but no Dawson or Raja. The door at the end of the hallway opened up to a stairwell leading down and they cautiously made their way downwards, and Dan keyed them through the door on the next landing down. This floor was much the same as the one above, with the head janitor’s office, the server room, and several more storage rooms on it. They went back to the stairwell and continued down to the final basement level, finding the entire floor to be some kind of boiler room, full of pipes and machinery that hummed and hissed.

From deep in the room, they heard the murmur of voices.

Eddie raised his finger to his lips and Dan nodded, showing that he had heard as well. They moved quickly and soundlessly towards a row of metal cannisters and ducked low behind them, getting out of sight. Eddie leaned in close to Dan and whispered against his ear, “Stay low, and keep behind me at all times. Got it?”

Ignoring the goosebumps that broke out as the warm breath tickled his neck, Dan nodded. Eddie’s eyes flashed black and then white, indicating that Venom was close to the surface and the doc felt immediately reassured by the symbiote’s presence. He was only now realising that they’d gotten themselves into a potentially dangerous situation but at least Venom was there to protect them. Dan wasn’t sure how he’d react if he saw him bite someone’s head off right in front of him but if it was a choice between that or getting caught in the crossfire of some mobsters, he knew which one he’d prefer.

Staying crouched down low, they moved towards where they’d heard the voices, keeping between the narrow space between the cannisters and the wall. They had to climb over a large pipe that extended from the wall and Eddie put a hand on Dan’s bicep to steady him from the other side. He smiled, grateful, and then they kept moving. His thighs began to burn from being crouched down but he ignored it, knowing that the truth was just around the corner, spurring him on. The voices were getting louder but they couldn’t hear what they were saying or even how many there were, the machinery nearby too loud for that.

Eddie’s hand shot up to stop Dan from moving any further as they reached the end of the row of cannisters and he cocked his head and listened intently. There was suddenly the sound of someone being struck and a muffled cry, and their eyes met. Dan nodded, assuring Eddie that he was with him, that he’d see this through no matter how dangerous it was going to get, and Eddie nodded back. He lifted a hand with three fingers raised and began to count down. Three, two one…

They peered around the corner and froze at the sight that met them.

It was not _at all_ what Dan was expecting. There were no mobsters, no shady dealings, no criminals. What there _was,_ was Doctor Dawson naked, strung up from the ceiling, wearing only a leather collar. Doctor Raja stood behind him, dressed in a black leather catsuit and towering black stilettos, a thin whipping rod in his hand.

Oh.

Dan chanced a look at Eddie and found him staring in shock, his mouth agape, his plush lower lip almost at the bottom of his chin. Clearly this had been the last thing that he had thought they’d encounter as well. The little daydreams of exposing a huge scandal and being the hero of the hour were fleeing Dan’s mind like rats from a sinking ship, replaced with the knowledge that his colleagues were simply completely inept when it came to managing grant funding, and were using work time to get their kink on. Sure, this would probably count as a scandal and make headlines too, maybe even more so than a medical scandal, but Dan would ask Eddie to keep this to themselves. They weren’t hurting anyone (a loud _smack_ reverberated around the room and he amended that to _other than themselves_ ) and as Raja was married with kids, Dan didn’t want this embarrassing his family. His wife might know about it, but it would still cause waves and he firmly believed that things like this should be dealt with in private.

Eddie was still staring and hadn't moved, so much so that Venom manifested a small neck and head and swung around until he was right in front of his face, leaning in and nudging his forehead with his. He must have said something silently along their bond, as Eddie jerked away, blushing furiously, his eyes cutting over to Dan for a moment. The doctor put it down to the two of them sharing yet _another_ awkward moment together, this time as spectators, but couldn’t help but be curious as to what Venom had said. Dan knew that he himself blushed like a school girl but it was less frequent that Eddie did so whatever it was, it must have been pretty bad. Dan wondered if Venom knew what BDSM was, and figured that he was probably asking some rather intimate questions.

Whatever he'd asked, it had jolted Eddie back into the present and he quickly raised his phone and snapped a few photos, before he shuffled back around the cannister, gesturing Dan to follow. The doctor maneuvered back around but as he was squeezing into the space next to Eddie, his foot knocked against the cannister and a loud hum reverberated around the room. They froze, eyes wide as they waited to see if the couple would notice.

Sure enough, Dawson asked in a panicked voice, “What was that?”

There was a moment of silence and they heard the sound of heels clicking across the concrete floor, coming closer, but stopping some distance away. Then the sound of footsteps heading back the other way. “It’s nothing, pet, probably just the sound of metal contracting in the heat.”

“Are you sure? What if someone is down here with us?” It was odd, hearing the man speak without his usual arrogance, and if Dan hadn't seen him with his own eyes, he wouldn’t have even recognised it as Dawson.

Raja cooed softly at him. “Shhh, it’s okay, pet, I promise. I’ll keep an eye on the door, okay, I won’t let anyone see you, no one gets to see you like this other than me.”

Dan looked to Eddie and he was sure that the horror on his best friend’s face matched his. There was no way that they could leave now, not with Raja on alert. They were stuck here. Listening.

“What’s your colour, pet?”

“Green, fuck, green all the way.”

“So good for me, love, such a good boy. You deserve a reward, hmmm. What would you like? Your choice.”

When he replied, his voice was breathy with anticipation. “May I suck you? Please? Wanna feel your cock in my mouth so bad.”

“Oh, pet, _of course_ you can.”

There was the sound of a pulley and Dan’s imagination filled in the blanks of Dawson being lowered until he was at an angle more suitable for a blowjob. He wondered how exactly Raja was going to get out of the catsuit - from the brief glance that he'd gotten there didn’t appear to be any zips at the front, and it had looked like one piece, but he forced the thought out of his head as that was definitely _not_ something that he wanted burned into his brain.

Dan slumped down against the wall next to Eddie, figuring that he may as well get comfortable since they certainly weren’t going anywhere in a hurry. Eddie did the same and as he shifted in the small space, his hip pressed up against Dan’s. Swallowing loudly, Dan tried to move away but there simply wasn’t any room and so he resigned himself to feeling his best friend’s warmth next to him.

What followed was the most torturous time of Dan’s life. Over the past several weeks, he had grown used to getting off to auditory stimulation only and the sounds that his colleagues were making were obscene. Raja kept up a running commentary, praising his pet for how well his took his dick, but even above that, they could hear the wet squelching noises as he rammed his cock over and over into Dawson’s mouth. Dawson moaned shamelessly around it, and whenever Raja pulled out, he would beg for more. Dan was uncomfortably hard and before he could stop himself, he glanced down at Eddie’s lap and noticed the obvious bulge there too.

Trying everything he could think of to distance himself from the situation, Dan tried reciting Pi to as many places as he could remember, went over the recipe in his head for the chocolate mud cake that he had been planning on teaching Venom, even thought about his shopping list and that he really needed to buy some shoe polish as the toes on his favourite shoes were looking a little scuffed. None of it worked, and he felt the almost overwhelming urge to turn to Eddie and crush their lips together, to paw at his clothes until they fell away and then to have him fuck Dan’s mouth the way Raja was fucking Dawson’s.

What the fuck had come over him? He closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the wall, trying to ignore the way that Eddie was squirming next to him. Venom was looking at him smugly and it didn’t take a genius to figure out that the symbiote was taking advantage of the situation to drive Eddie crazy. He’d heard some of the dirty talk Venom used and it wouldn’t take much to imagine what he was saying right now, but he figured that coming in his pants would only serve to make the whole situation even worse.

Fuck, he needed to get laid so bad. His sexual frustration wasn’t allowing him to think clearly, and if he ruined his friendship with Eddie by doing something entirely inappropriate (like shove his tongue down his throat and bite on that stupidly kissable lower lip) then he would never forgive himself.

He made up his mind. As soon as they were out of this hell hole, he was going to find Suzie and he was going to tell her that he would be there tomorrow night. He’d make sure that she knew he wasn’t interested in a relationship, but he had the feeling that she wouldn’t mind overly much. Hopefully once he'd fucked her into a mattress a time or two, he’d get over whatever this weird compulsion was to ruin things with his best friend.

Feeling better now that he’d come to a decision, he just had to get through the next however long it was that they were trapped here. Dan took a deep breath and let it out slowly, feeling himself relax.

In the background, the sound of Dawson being face fucked got even louder.


	14. Chapter 14

“Come on, love, let’s go out.”

**“Out where?”**

“I thought we could eat out tonight.”

**“You never want to eat out.”**

“That’s not entirely true, babe.”

**“What is wrong, Eddie? You are...restless.”**

“Just don’t wanna be cooped up in the apartment tonight. Is that so wrong?”

There was a pause, but Venom didn’t choose to call Eddie out on his bullshit right then and there. He was pretty sure that that would come later, but for now, his symbiote merely said, **“Okay, Eddie, if you want.”**

He took one last look around the apartment, and was unable to help but notice how _empty_ it felt, which was absolutely insane - Dan was simply out with some work mates and would be back sometime later that night, and it wasn’t like Eddie wasn’t used to being by himself (with the exception of Venom). He shook his head, silently telling himself to stop being such a wuss, and he grabbed his phone and keys and headed for the door.

**“Wait! Aren’t you going to text Dan and tell him that we’ve gone out?”**

“Um, no?”

**“But he might come home and worry when he finds us gone.”**

“I’m sure he’ll figure out that we’ve just out for a while, love.”

**“But what if he thinks that someone has kidnapped you and starts to worry?”**

“Who the hell would want to kidnap me?” Eddie asked, ignoring the warm feeling that bloomed through him as he imagined Dan worrying about them.

 **“Eddie,”** Venom said, slowly, like he was explaining to a child, **“you are bonded with an alien symbiote and we go around eating bad guys - it’s not at all unlikely that someone would want to kidnap you to exact revenge.”**

“Okay, well, when you put it like _that_ ,” he conceded. Sighing, he took out his phone and sent off a quick text.

_V and I are eating out tonight, not sure if we’ll be back before morning. Don’t wait up - Eddie_

As if Dan would wait up for them...Eddie growled at himself and then hurried out the door, pretending that he wasn’t holding his phone in his hand so he’d know the moment that Dan texted back, and then pretending that he wasn’t disappointed when Dan didn’t text back at all.

The night air was crisp and a chill wind chased them as they walked at a brisk pace up and down the steep hills. Venom was quiet, leaving Eddie to his thoughts and he was grateful. He was pretty sure that his Other had gotten the general gist of what was bothering him, but until he’d gotten it sorted out in his own head, he didn't really want to have that discussion just yet. He was confused enough as it is, and the last thing that he wanted to do was confuse Venom as well.

How the fuck had it come to this? Really, was the universe playing a colossal fucking joke on him? Eddie had never had a heap of luck when it had come to his love life. Things had been pretty dry before he met Anne, then he thought that he’d found his soul mate, then he’d lost her and found Venom and it was at that point that he had realised exactly what it meant to be _actual_ soulmates, and he had never been happier or loved deeper in his entire life. So, why, pray tell, did he suddenly want to grab Dan by the shoulders, shove him against a wall, and kiss him to within an inch of his life?

It was definitely a conundrum, but worse, it was an _unexpected_ conundrum. He’d thought himself perfectly happy and content, so where were these urges coming from? His sex life with his symbiote was the most phenomenal sex that he’d ever had and he wasn’t lacking for anything. Plus he felt loved and cherished, so why? Why the hell did he suddenly find his best friend so desirable?

He grimaced, his sour expression garnering an alarmed look from a passing pedestrian but he ignored her as he continued walking. He felt dirty and he wished that he could push these feelings for the doctor deep down inside of him and pretend that he’d never recognised them. Not because Dan was a guy, Eddie had no problem with that. In fact, considering his drunken uni days and the fact that he was romantically involved with a piece of shapeshifting alien goo, it was pretty safe to say that he was pansexual. No, the reason that he felt so dirty, that it felt so wrong, was the fact that merely having them felt like he was cheating on Venom, the ultimate betrayal.

He loved Venom, pure and simple, and he never wanted to lose him. Whatever this attraction that he felt towards Dan didn’t negate those feelings whatsoever, but what happened if Venom didn’t believe him? What if he broke his Other’s heart? The very last thing that he wanted to ever do was to hurt Venom, but he also didn't want to lie, to keep something like this from him. He would need to tell him, sooner rather than later, come clean, and deal with the fallout.

He simply hoped that when all was said and done that his relationship would still be intact and that he’d still have his friendship with Dan. He supposed it would all depend on how Venom reacted and at the end of the day, if his Other wanted him to never see Dan again, then Eddie would do whatever he wished.

They’d wound up in one of the dodgier parts of town and it wasn’t long before he heard the sounds of a struggle coming from the end of a dark alley. He crept through the shadows and soon came across the source. A buff, bald man had a slighter man pinned against a wall, blood dripping from a cut to his forehead. As Eddie moved closer, he caught the faint glint of a knife pressed against the smaller man’s throat. There was a whimper of fear and a closer look told Eddie that the man being pinned was just a kid. He saw red and lunged, not even bothering as he usually did to figure out exactly what was going on. He didn't care if it was a mugging, or if the older man was a pimp or a client, or if it was personal; he was too keyed up to watch this kid be terrified a moment longer.

It was over so quickly, one snap and they were crunching down on bone and brain. The boy had slid down the wall once he was released and he was staring up at them in horror. Venom swallowed and licked his maw clean, then turned to the kid. **“He will not hurt you again.”**

“W...w….will y...you?”

Venom crouched down so that he wasn’t such a hulking mass over him. **“No, you have nothing to fear from us.”** He held out a hand, sans claws, and offered it to the kid, who gingerly took it. They helped him to his feet and didn't let go until he was steady. **“Do you need us to walk you home?”**

The kid shook his head, a hint of sadness on his expression. “No, I’m be fine. Thanks, you know, for that.” He didn’t seem able to look at the crumpled mess of his attacker on the ground, a dark puddle of blood forming around him, and Eddie couldn’t blame him.

**“Anytime.”**

They watched him stumble down the alleyway and onto the main street, then Venom casually tore the dead man’s arm off, chomping down on that as well. Eddie made them look around for somewhere to dispose of the body and spied a dumpster not far away. Venom usually grumbled when he made them clean up their mess, but tonight he complied without complaint and soon they had turfed what was left of their meal in the dumpster and strewn rubbish over the puddle of blood to try and soak it up.

Once they were finished, Venom didn’t give control back over to Eddie, even once they were well away from the scene of their meal. He bounded across the city, a streak of black shadow against the night, climbing higher and higher up, until they were perched atop the roof of a tower of glass and steel. He still didn't have a love of heights, but Eddie trusted Venom implicitly and so he was able to keep the panic at bay as he settled down, a little away from the edge, to gaze out over the city. Venom manifested a head and neck a little larger than his snake-like one that he generally used at home, and he curled around Eddie’s neck, holding him close.

**“Eddie, we need to talk.”**

Fuck, those words sounded so ominous. He gulped and nodded. “I know.”

**“You are...confused.”**

He nodded. “Yeah, love, I am a bit.”

 **“So am I.”** Venom’s voice vibrated through Eddie’s throat from where he was pressed against him, and it took a moment for him to realise that his symbiote was seeking comfort.

“What about?” he asked quietly, lifting a hand to stroke him soothingly.

**“I’m not sure how to explain it.”**

“Take your time, babe.”

The symbiote huffed a little and snuggled even closer. **“I do not understand what is happening, Eddie. You are my perfect host, my everything - something that I never thought I would ever have.”**

He nodded, aware of how the bond between symbiote and host for most Klyntar was less symbiotic and more parasitic. Venom had shunned everything that he had ever been taught so that he could be with Eddie, had given up his entire species, and how did Eddie repay him? By wanting to fuck his best friend. Christ, he was such a terrible person. He swallowed thickly and nodded, waiting for the accusations to begin.

 **“You have made me so happy, Eddie, have shown me a love that I never thought that I could have. I don’t understand, why is this happening?”** He sounded heartbroken and Eddie would never forgive himself for hurting his Other like this. **“This should be enough, should it not? What you and I have? The perfect bond, you, me,** **_we_** **. Why then, why is it not enough?”**

He choked out a sob. “Venom, I -”

**“I don’t understand, Eddie - why do I have these feelings for Dan when I have you? I am bonded with you but I want Dan as well and I don’t know why.”**

Eddie froze. “Wait, what? _You_ like Dan?”

**“Eddie, I’m so sorry, I’m so so sorry.”**

“V, babe, shhh, it’s okay, love, it’s okay.”

 **“How can it be okay?”** he practically wailed. **“I have betrayed you!”**

“No, you haven’t, babe, you haven’t. You still love me, right?”

**“More than you could ever know.”**

“And I love you, just as much.” He took a deep breath and then blurted out, “But I _also_ have feelings for Dan.”

Venom pulled away from where he was hidden against Eddie’s throat. **“You do?”** **  
**

“Yeah. Why do you think I’ve been moping about tonight? I’ve been trying to get my head around it, wondering how to tell you.” He smiled sadly. “I thought you might hate me when I confessed.”

**“I could never hate you, Eddie, never.”**

“I’m glad to hear that, love.”

**“So...what are we going to do?”**

“Do?”

**“About Dan.”**

“I dunno, I guess it all depends on if he likes us back.”

Venom snorted. **“Of** **_course_ ** **he likes us. We are very loveable.”**

Eddie chuckled. “You are especially, but it’s not always that simple, V.”

**“Why is it not simple? We like him and he likes us.”**

“Yeah, but _how_ does he like us? He might just like us as friends, or even if he’s interested in us in _that_ way, he might not be interested in a poly relationship. Not everyone can handle that.”

**“Why not?”**

“Some people don’t like to share, some people get jealous, others don’t like the fact that it can be very time consuming, spending time with two lovers, some people just prefer loving one person. There’s no right or wrong way to love, babe. We need to be sure however that we don’t pressure Dan into something that he doesn’t want. We don’t want to lose him as a friend.”

**“So how do we figure out what Dan likes? Do we ask him?”**

“Erm, I think that I’d have to be rather drunk for that.”

**“Then how?”**

“We need to be subtle, V, feel him out, flirt a little and see if he flirts back.”

**“Feel him up, see if he flirts back, got it.”**

“What, _no!_ We’re not _feeling him up,_ we’re feeling him _out_. There’s a difference.”

**“If you say so.”**

“I do say so, I say so very much.” If he wasn’t careful, Venom with his blunt approach was simply going to announce how they felt, sod the consequences. “How ‘bout we head home, have an early night, and have a think about how we want to go about it?”

**“Okay, Eddie. Are you going to jump?”**

He shuddered. “I really would rather not.”

His symbiote laughed, and growled, **“Pussy,”** before he enveloped Eddie protectively and hurled them off the top of the building.

oOoOo

Eddie’s euphoric feeling lasted until he got home. He was almost bubbling over with a mix of emotions - relief that Venom not only didn’t hate him but also felt the same way, excitement at the possibilities ahead, with a little hope thrown in for good measure, and a dash of giddiness. He was pretty sure that his feet didn’t even touch the ground; he just floated along, probably with cartoon birds and hearts floating around his head.  

That feeling deflated like a balloon that had been introduced to a needle when he walked in the front door only to discover that Dan was home. And not alone.

As the doctor pulled back from the pretty young thing that had her tongue down his throat, Eddie was sure that he felt his heart break. Then came the sucker punch as the emotions that Venom felt were sent along the bond in a painful feedback loop.

Unable to even stutter out a greeting, Eddie fled to his room, not seeing the flicker of regret that passed over Dan’s face as he left.


	15. Chapter 15

“Who was that?” Suzie asked as Eddie left the room, but then showed no interest in the answer as she leant forward to try and kiss Dan again.

“Um, he’s my housemate,” he replied, pulling back from her and glancing in the direction of the bedrooms in worry. Why was Eddie back so early? Was everything okay? He looked upset. Maybe he should go and check on them? He said this last part out loud.

“Why bother?” Suzie drawled, moving her hand further up his thigh. “He looked like a grown boy - I’m sure he can take care of himself.”

There was a crash as Eddie’s bedroom door swung back open and he exited but there was definitely something _off_ about the way that he was moving, and it only took a moment to recognise what exactly. Dan frowned, wondering why Venom was controlling Eddie’s body. He stalked jerkily across the living room to the kitchen, crossing just behind the couch and pausing, sniffing at the air. “Dan?” he asked, and the doctor could just hear a slight deepening of Eddie’s voice which indicated that it was also Venom _speaking_. “Why does it smell like trollop in here?”

Dan choked and glanced to Suzie but she didn't seem familiar with the phrase. “Um, I’m not sure what you mean, Eddie.”

“Smells...fishy.” He gave Suzie the dirtiest look that Dan had ever seen his friend pull and then he went into the kitchen, where he began to open and close cupboards, pulling out pots and pans and slamming them down on the counter, making an absolute racket.

Suzie glared at Eddie, and she huffed, put out at his reappearance. “Honestly, couldn’t he see that we were _busy?_ ”

Dan shrugged, more concerned over what was going on with Eddie and Venom than he was about getting busy with Suzie.

With another loud _clang_ , Venom pulled out the frypan and then turned to the couple on the sofa with a manic grin - a shadow of his usual toothy smile that looked rather horrifying on Eddie’s very human face. “I’m making pancakes,” he announced. “Who wants some?”

“What the fuck?” Suzie growled. “No, we do _not_ want fucking pancakes.”

“Oh, well, I wouldn’t mind some,” Dan said, throwing her a sheepish look. “We _did_ kinda leave the bar before we could order dinner.”

“Are you serious right now?” she demanded. She then dropped her voice into a purr and inched her hand up his thigh even higher. “Wouldn’t you rather head to the bedroom with me? I promise to show you a good time.”

There was a crash from the kitchen and Dan’s head whipped around to see Eddie standing amongst shards of a broken mixing bowl, a cloud of flour showering him and a scowl on his face. “Shit, let me help clean that up,” he said and jumped up to hurry over, almost toppling Suzie off of his lap. He wasn’t sure why exactly but all of a sudden he wasn’t really interested in taking things any further with Suzie - not tonight or ever. He crouched down and began to pick up the larger pieces of glass, almost bumping his head against Eddie’s as Venom propelled his body into a crouch as well. “What’s wrong, V?” he whispered. “Is something wrong with Eddie?”

Eddie’s eyes flashed over black and then white, and then he was scowling once more. “Don’t want her in our home,” he admitted quietly. “Neither does Eddie.”

“Oh, V, I’m so sorry - I should have checked that it would be alright to bring someone back tonight.”

“Don’t want you to _ever_ bring anyone home.”

He frowned, finding it odd that his housemates would be so strict about him having people over, though he had to admit that they hadn’t ever discussed that, he’d just assumed that it would be fine. There was a gasp, and he recognised it as belonging to Eddie, not Venom, and he saw that he had sliced his palm open on a shard of glass. Dan immediately set down the pieces that he was holding and took hold of Eddie’s hand, pressing his own hand over the cut.

“What the fuck, V?” Eddie muttered to himself, looking dazed as he looked around at where he was, looking surprised to be in the kitchen. “What happened?”

“Um, I don’t think he was very happy that I have company,” Dan explained.

“Oh.” Eddie averted his gaze but before Dan could decipher the look that flashed over his face, it was gone.

“Suzie?” Dan called.

“Yes?” she asked eagerly now that he was paying attention to her.

“Could you please go into the bathroom and get the first aid kit that’s in the cabinet?”

Her lips pressed into a thin line but she left to get it without further comment.

“Can you get up?” Dan then asked Eddie.

He nodded and tried to stand but immediately swayed and fell on his ass. “Or not,” he quipped.

“It’s okay, I got you.” He slipped an arm under Eddie’s and hauled him to his feet, twisting uncomfortably so he could make sure that he kept pressure against the gash on Eddie's hand and then helped him onto one of the dining chairs. His friend was looking pale and not well at all, and blood had started to drip onto the floor. “V?” he asked, after glancing over his shoulder to see if they were about to be interrupted, “can you help with this at all?”

There was silence and then Eddie’s eyes glazed over, a sign that he was speaking internally to his symbiote. They then flashed back to Dan’s and he shrugged. “He’s not answering me. Maybe he doesn’t want to chance healing me and making your girlfriend suspicious.”

“She’s not my girlfriend,” Dan said, a little too quickly, and then added, “and he’s throwing a hissy fit is what it looks like. Any idea why he’s so upset?”

“Um, no, not really.” That was a lie if Dan had ever seen one but he let it go.

“Dan,” Suzie called, poking her head around the bathroom door, “I can’t find the kit.”

He frowned, sure that it wasn’t hard to miss but he just grasped Eddie’s other hand and pressed it over his wound. “Keep pressure on it, okay. I'll be right back.” Then he headed into the bathroom and stopped as he saw the kit sitting on the counter. “Um, it’s right there," he said, pointlessly.

Suzie kicked the door shut and then crossed her arms over her chest, giving him her best pout. “What the fuck, Dan?”

“What?” he asked defensively. “I need to fix his hand!”

“That doesn’t explain why he was being a damn cock blocker!” she hissed.

“He wasn’t, he just -”

“Don't try and excuse him,” she interrupted him. “He was too and you know it. What the fuck is his problem exactly?”

“He’s probably just had a bad night, he’s an investigative reporter and he sees some pretty bad shit.”

She huffed. “Sure, I bet that’s it. Ever considered that maybe he’s jealous?”

“Jealous? Don’t be ridiculous - he could pull someone like you in a heartbeat, he has no need to be jealous.”

She narrowed her eyes at the phrase ‘someone like you’. “Not quite what I meant,” she growled.

“Then what did you mean, Suzie?” he snapped, getting frustrated. “Eddie’s getting blood all over the kitchen and I’d really like to get it sorted if you don’t mind.”

“So that’s how this is going to go? You’re picking him over me?”

“He’s injured for crying out loud!”

“Because he was being an ass!” she all but screamed.

“What does that have to do with anything?”

“It has _everything_ to do with it! For fuck’s sake, Dan, I’m giving you one last chance.”

“One last chance?” He glared at her. “You’re really giving me an ultimatum? Perform first aid on my best friend or jump into bed with you?”

“Yeah, that’s exactly what I’m saying. It’s not exactly a hard choice, is it?”

“You’re right, it’s not.” And he grabbed the kit from the counter and stormed from the bathroom.

Dan had cleaned Eddie’s hand and was about to wrap it when Suzie stalked out of the bathroom, and grabbed her bag from the sofa. “We’re done, Dan,” she snapped as she crossed to the door.

“We never even began,” he muttered as the door slammed closed behind her. He gave Eddie a small smile of apology. “Sorry ‘bout that. Now hold still while I wrap this.”

 **“No need,”** Venom announced, emerging from Eddie’s shoulder blade to hover in front of him.

Dan watched in amazement as the wound immediately began to close up, healing before his eyes. “You couldn’t have done that five minutes ago?” he asked wryly.

**“No, because then she wouldn’t have left.”**

“Why did you want her to leave?” he asked.

**“She's not good enough for you.”**

He sighed. “V, you don’t really get to decide that for me.”

**“But it’s true!”**

“Maybe, but I have to be the one to come to that conclusion, buddy.”

**“But by then it would be too late and you’d have had sex with her!”**

“And?”

**“And the only people you should be having sex with are me and Eddie!”**

Dan stared at him in shock, unsure if he had heard that correctly. “Excuse me?” he uttered.

Eddie’s expression had turned to one of horror and he scrambled off the chair. “Shit. Um, sorry, ah, we’ll just go to bed. Goodnight!” and he fled from the room.

Dan sat there, wondering what the hell had just happened but didn't miss the way that his cock seemed more interested in that scenario than it ever had about sleeping with Suzie.


	16. Chapter 16

Eddie may have fled to the bedroom but there was no way that he was going to be able to sleep. What the fuck had Venom been thinking? What had he hoped to achieve, other than putting them into an embarrassing and mortifying situation? He pulled the pillow over his head, hiding his flaming cheeks away from the world. He just wanted the ground to swallow him up, to hide him away forever. Fuck! He’d thought before that perhaps Dan _was_ interested in them, at least a little but now all he could see in his mind’s eye was the shock on his best friend’s face and he was positive that he’d been wrong, that he wasn’t just going to lose the chance to be with Dan in a romantic manner, but also as a friend. Plus, he’d probably move out. Surely the doctor wouldn’t want to remain living him when he knew that his housemates were fantasising about him…

Fuck, fuck, fuck! His stomach was roiling, making him feel sick and he was hyperventilating under the pillow, but he wasn’t going to come up for a proper breath of air. Perhaps when morning came, they’d find his lifeless body and it would all be over? He could see the headline now:  _Investigative Reporter Dies Of Embarrassment After Symbiote Declares Feelings For Best Friend._ Another wave of nausea crashed over him and if it wasn’t for Venom’s accelerated digestive capabilities, he’d be vomiting up Bad Guy all over his sheets.

 **Eddie?** Venom’s voice was quieter than usual, even though it was internalised, and he sounded contrite.

_What, V?_

**Are you mad at me?** It was the vocal equivalent of tucking his tail between his legs.

Eddie sighed. _Not really mad, more frustrated._

**Why?**

_Because you never stop and think before you blurt shit out, love. You don’t consider the consequences._

**Dan needed to know how we felt!**

_We agreed that we would take things slowly so we’d figure out if he felt the same way! Besides, there’s declaring that we have feelings for him and then there’s telling him we want to fuck him!_

**But he was going to sleep with that trollop!**

_And he had every right to,_ he explained, even as the inclination to vomit increased at the mere thought. _Just because we like Dan, it doesn’t mean that we get to dictate how he lives his life._

 **But we’re better than her,** Venom grumbled.

 _Oh, so you know her, do you?_ Eddie snapped. _Know her well enough to make that determination, huh?_

**You know what I mean!**

_V, you gotta understand, love, that starting a relationship with Dan isn’t going to be like what we have, okay. You get to control what I do to a certain point because we share a body, we’re one. It won’t be like that with Dan, you won’t get to make him do what you want. He’ll be the one making those choices and sometimes you’re not gonna like what he choses. That’s just the way it is._

**But do you think we still have a chance?** His voice was so hopeful that Eddie wasn’t sure if he could bring himself to tell Venom that he thought that they had blown it completely.

_I dunno, V. Maybe._

**What do we do?**

_Fuck, I have no idea. Maybe for now we just get some sleep?_

**I don’t think I can sleep.**

He sighed. _Yeah, me neither._

**Maybe we should go out?**

_Yeah, that’s a good idea. Get some air, clear our minds, and figure out what the fuck we’re going to do next._

**Can we go to that place that does the chocolate volcano?**

Eddie chucked. _Yeah, babe, we can get some Lava Cake._

**With ice cream?**

_Sure, ice cream sounds good._

He pulled the pillow off his head and got up to get dressed, not bothering to tell Venom that bingeing on chocolate and ice cream was the traditional way to deal with rejection. Of course, in their case, it was a typical Friday night, so why split hairs? He went to the window, Venom enveloping him as he slid it open, and they disappeared into the night.

oOoOo

Dan sat on the couch, staring towards the far wall but not seeing it, replaying the events of the evening over and over in his mind. It was obvious now that Venom had taken over Eddie’s body so that he could project how unhappy he was at discovering that Dan had company. It was definitely a show of jealousy, and the doctor should have found that concerning, but instead he just found it endearing. He’d know Venom from the very beginning, had watched him learn and adapt to Earth and to humans. He had watched as he had become more and more in tune with his emotions, had learned how to demonstrate them, how to share them. The symbiote had grown so much, had come such a long way, and it had been amazing to be part of that journey. He couldn’t be upset with Venom, not when he was merely demonstrating that very humanity that he had adapted.

Pulling himself from his daze, Dan headed through to the kitchen, finding a bottle of whiskey and pouring himself a generous measure. He sipped at it, grimacing at the burn, and returned to the couch. It wasn’t his usual drink of choice, but he felt that tonight he needed something a little bit harder than beer. He was going to be digging deep to find some truths and he needed something strong to give him the courage to accept what he found.

Given Eddie’s abrupt departure, it was clear that Venom wasn’t supposed to have blurted out what he did, and although Dan felt bad that his best friend was embarrassed, he was grateful for Venom’s lack of subtlety. Dan had been doing a good job of ignoring the tension that had been building between the three of them, but he was also glad that he had been prevented from making a huge mistake with Suzie. She really wasn’t what he was looking for, but he was too daft to realise that what he’d been looking for had maybe been right in front of him all along. Even if he _had_ figured it out, humans could be stupid at times. He and Eddie were grown ass adults but that didn't mean that they wouldn’t hide from the truth, duck and dodge around it, trying to figure out what the other was feeling, making assumptions and drawing conclusions - the wrong ones, most likely.

Venom, being Venom, had stated bluntly what they wanted, and although it lacked grace and any sort of romanticism, he’d cut to the chase. Sometimes even fully functioning adults needed lessons in effective communication it seemed.

So the truth was out there now - Eddie and Venom were attracted to Dan. The doctor just had to figure out exactly how he felt about them so they could all move forward. He took another gulp of whiskey and prepared himself to get real. It was time to dig deep, and figure out exactly what he was feeling. Did he only want the odd couple as friends? Or did he want more?

Who the fuck was he kidding? Of _course_ he wanted more, he’d just been too stubborn and blind to see it. If he wasn’t interested in them like that, then there was no way in the world that he’d have spent almost every night of the past month jerking off to the sounds of them being intimate. He’d always admired Eddie, even before he met him he’d been a fan of his work. He’d never been jealous of what he’d had with Annie, hadn’t held it against him and treated him like The Ex. He’d tried his best to be friendly and polite from the get go, despite Eddie wanting to get back with Anne, and when the whole thing with the Life Foundation had calmed down, it had paid off. Eddie and Venom became a ‘they’ and once the hurdle of wanting to rekindle a romance with his ex had passed, Eddie had been receptive to a friendship with the doctor. Dan had gotten to know Eddie and it hadn’t taken long for him to consider the journalist his best friend.

When his own relationship with Annie had fallen apart, Dan had found the thought of losing that friendship even more painful than losing his girlfriend. He’d not intended to make anyone choose sides but when Eddie had essentially done just that, offering Dan a place to call a home, it had cemented the odd duo as the most important people in his life.

Thinking about it now, he had always thought that Eddie was attractive - it went with the territory really, of being a reporter on television. They might not all be supermodels but they all had a certain quality that the camera loved. Eddie’s warm chocolate eyes and strong jaw, his plush lips, and the ever present five o’clock shadow not only appealed to his swath of fans, but also to a certain surgeon. Of course, then there was Venom, and if someone had told Dan a year ago that he’d be sexually attractive to an alien goo monster, well, he’d have booked them a psych evaluation immediately. But he couldn’t deny that there was just _something_ about Venom that drew him in - the intelligence in his opalescent eyes, the surprisingly silky feel of his inky skin (Dan had noted on more than one occasion its similarity to the feel of an erect cock), and of course, the powerful musculature of his full form. Then of course there was the rather titillating fact that Venom could mould his form into any number of interesting and _phallic_ shapes...

He blushed deeply at this thought and forced himself to move on, lest he end up with an entirely different problem to take care of.

The thing that appealed most to Dan however was that Eddie wasn’t one of those toxically masculine types. Sure, he rode a motorbike, wore a leather jacket, could hold his own in a fight, and had a rough and tumble look about him, but that was just what was on the surface. Beneath that exterior was someone who wasn’t afraid to be vulnerable, who could admit when they were scared or overwhelmed, who wasn’t afraid to love and to love deeply, and was fiercely loyal.

Really, what else was there to even consider? If Dan had been subconsciously hoping to talk himself out of his feelings, he’d failed. He was utterly convinced now that this was something that he wanted and he wasn’t going to wait any longer. He threw back the last of the whiskey, got up and strode down the hallway. He rapped his knuckles against his housemates’ bedroom door and called, “Eddie, Venom - may I come in? I’d like to talk.”

Silence.

Dan frowned, unsure if he was being ignored. Perhaps Eddie had fallen asleep? His friend was embarrassed but he found it hard to believe that he’d just pretend like Dan wasn’t there. He wasn’t a _coward_. He tried again, but still didn't get a reply. Dan cracked the door open and peered inside, only to find the room empty. He swung the door open the entire way and stepped inside, his eyes falling on the open window and the curtains fluttering in the breeze. He sighed, annoyed at himself for taking so long to come to a decision that he’d missed his chance.

Well screw it - it wasn’t going to take chances and miss another. He crossed to the bed, crawled under the blanket and pulled it up around his neck, breathing in the lingering scent of Eddie’s spicy cologne. He was going to make sure that he was there when his friends returned and then they were going to talk. And maybe kiss. Okay, so maybe they could kiss _first_ and talk afterwards? Either way, he wasn’t going to miss the opportunity a second time to tell his friends how he really felt about them.

He settled in to wait and soon fell asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, I know, I'm a terrible person, making you wait even *longer* for a kiss!


	17. Chapter 17

There was only so many servings of Lava cake and ice cream that Eddie could eat before he drew a crowd of curious onlookers, and so he resigned himself to heading back home, maybe he’d even try to get some sleep. He didn't think that there was actually a chance of that happening but it would give him some time to figure out what to say to Dan when he saw him in the morning. Just exactly how he was going to apologise for such an awkward encounter, well, he wasn’t sure. It was either going to come off as pathetic and lovestruck (which, yes, he was well aware that that was an apt description for how he and V felt) or creepy and stalkerish. At this point, he wasn’t sure which would be worse. Maybe he could just see how long he could go without seeing Dan? He was rather good at avoiding people when he wanted to, so maybe he could put those skills to use?

**We are not going to avoid Dan. Stop being such a coward.**

Eddie pouted and shoved his hands deeper into the pockets of his hoodie. _Spoilsport._

**You are being a pussy about this.**

_No, I’m not!_

**Yes, you are.**

_Am not!_

**Now you’re just being childish.**

_Am not._

**Are too!**

Eddie cracked a smile and tacked on another, _Am not_ for good measure.

**Eddie, we need to speak to Dan properly.**

_Do we really?_ he whined.

 **How is it that** **_I’m_ ** **the responsible one here?**

_No idea._

**It’s weird and odd.**

_Tell me about it._

**I just did - it’s weird and odd. I don’t like it.**

Eddie sighed. _No, neither do I. Okay, V - I’ll be a grownup and promise not to run away when we speak to Dan next._

**Maybe we should cook him a nice breakfast?**

_We can try. You’re better in the kitchen than me._

**Dan is a good teacher.**

_Yeah, he is._

**When we’re having breakfast will be a good time to talk to him.**

_Probably._ It would certainly avoid the awkwardness of having to say ‘ _We need to talk’._

They rounded the corner and Eddie looked up at their apartment, relief washing over him as he saw that Dan’s bedroom window was darkened. If their best friend had gone to bed then they could simply put their plan into place for tomorrow morning when they’d have the whole night to think about what to say. How honest should they be? Tell the entire truth and risk losing it all, or only tell a little of it and risk not getting a chance to win Dan’s heart?

They entered the building from the main entrance, feeling little need to sneak in as they had snuck out. The apartment was quiet as they entered, the light still on in the living room. Eddie flipped it off as he passed, plunging the room into darkness and he made his way by memory down the hall, stopping by the bathroom to brush his teeth. He paused briefly outside of Dan’s bedroom, hovering a hand over the wood, wanting to knock and make sure that he was okay, that he wasn’t too mad at having his date interrupted, but he quickly decided that it could wait until morning. Hopefully their breakfast would be seen as the apology that it was, and maybe, _maybe_ if they were lucky, Dan would keep an open mind as they poured out their hearts to him.

He went into their own room, not bothering with the light, just stripping from his clothes as he crossed the dim room to the bed, throwing jeans and hoodie to the ground until he was just in his boxers. He slipped under the covers, rolled over...and ended up with a face full of flesh.

Eddie startled and pulled back, peering down at the lump in his bed. “V?” he whispered. “What the fuck?”

Venom materialised a small head and was exploring the person asleep next to them, but of course, it really wasn’t a surprise when he said, **“It’s Dan.”** Who else could it be?

“Oh. I wonder what he’s doing?”

**“No idea but he’s warm and we are cold. Cuddle with him, Eddie.”**

“I can’t just cuddle with him without his consent!” he hissed. His eyes were adjusting to the dim light that filtered in through the curtain and he couldn’t drag his eyes away from Dan’s face, peaceful in sleep and half hidden against Eddie’s pillow.

**“He’s in our bed, Eddie.”**

“That isn’t consent, V! Christ, do we need to go over this again with you?”

 **“In the morning. Can we just sleep now?”** His tiny mouth opened comically wide in a yawn.

“Yeah, sure.” He paused, uncertain. “Should we sleep on the couch?”

 **“Eddie, it is cold and we are sleepy and** **_Dan_ ** **is in our bed -** **_we are not sleeping on the couch_ ** **.”**

“Okay, okay, fine.” He lay back down, making sure to keep an acceptable distance between himself and his best friend so that he wouldn’t inadvertently grope him during the night. “Night, love.”

**“Night, Eddie.”**

Dan made a muffled noise in his sleep and Eddie froze, terrified that he’d wake up and the awkwardness that he was trying so hard to avoid would have to be addressed. The doctor didn't wake up, however, he merely rolled over, threw an arm over Eddie’s waist and burrowed his face against his shoulder, his breathing becoming even once more.

Eddie stayed perfectly still for about a minute, and then slowly he began to relax. He inched a hand down until it slipped over Dan’s, and he held it gently in his own while Venom curled across Eddie’s throat from one side and then draped himself across Dan’s chest. Eddie closed his eyes, ready for sleep, a soft smile on his lips.

oOoOo

Sunlight streamed in through the window, waking Eddie and he blinked his eyes several times as he chased sleep away. His chest felt full and he could feel that Venom had retreated inside to curl up under his ribs and around his heart - his favourite place to sleep. His left side was extremely warm and he turned his head and found himself looking into a set of warm brown eyes. “Oh,” he croaked. “Hey.”

“Hey,” Dan replied with a smile. He lifted his arm, which was curled around Eddie. “This okay?”

His sleepy brain was unable to lie this early in the morning. “Fuck, yes, more than okay.”

“Good.” Dan lowered his arm back down and snuggled up against him once again. “I was worried when I found that you’d left last night.”

“There really wasn’t any need - you know that V keeps me safe.”

He felt Dan shake his head against his ribs. “No, that’s not what I meant. I was worried that I’d blown my chance to tell you two how I feel.”

“H...how y...you feel?” Eddie croaked.

“Yeah.” He felt Dan sigh against his shoulder and then he rose up a little until he was leaning on his elbow, looking down at Eddie. “Would it be okay if V came out? I’d like to be able to see both of you when I say this.”

Eddie’s opposite shoulder prickled, the sign that his symbiote was manifesting a head and neck from within him. Keeping close to his host’s skin, he slid over a little until he was looking up at Dan with shy eyes. **“Hello, Dan.”**

“Hey, V. Thanks for coming out.” He smiled then, warm and lovely and the hope that had blossomed in Eddie’s chest grew even bigger. “First of all, I wanted to say thank you for stopping me from making a mistake last night with Suzie.”

Venom smiled smugly but Eddie shook his head. “God, no, Dan we should be apologising. The way we acted was atrocious.”

The doc chuckled. “If I had been serious about starting something with her, then yeah, I’d agree, but I think I was just trying to distract myself from thinking about you two.”

 **“Told you it was a good idea,”** Venom preened.

“V,” Eddie said reproachfully.

“Look, it’s not important,” Dan assured them. “But _this_ is,” he continued, caressing first Venom’s cheek and then Eddie’s. “I think I’ve had feelings for you two for a while now but it’s taken me a stupidly long time to recognise them. Dammit, I think that somewhere along the line I’ve gone and fallen in love with both of you.” He gave them a sheepish smile.

“You have?”

“Yeah, I think I have.”

**“That is good to hear since Eddie and I love you too.”**

_Love, V? Is this what this is?_ Eddie asked silently.

 **What else would you call it? It’s not like we didn’t** **_already_ ** **love him as a friend.**

_I guess so, but I don’t want to rush things._

**Life is short, Eddie. Live in the moment.**

_I swear to God if you tell me to dance like no one is watching, I’m going to strangle you._

**That’s okay - Dan is a doctor and he loves me so he can fix me up.**

“Um, I’m guessing you guys didn't talk about this?” Dan said slowly, recognising the drawn out silence as an internal conversation.

Eddie blushed. “Oh, well, I mean, we knew that we really liked you, and wanted to be with you, but I guess maybe I didn't realise exactly what it meant.”

“Hey, there’s no rush, Eddie - I’m not looking for any declarations here,” he assured him. “I guess I just need to know if this is something that the both of you want to try with me?”

Eddie looked up into those gorgeous brown eyes that were looking at he and his symbiote like they were the most precious things on earth and he smiled broadly up at him. “Fuck yes, yes we do.”

“Well then, we have all the time in the world to explore how we feel,” Dan said, “but if it’s alright with you, right now, I’d like to kiss you, and then I'd like to kiss V.”

“I think we’d both like that very much.”

**“More than you’ll ever know.”**

“Well then, now that we’ve got that sorted…” and he leaned down and pressed his lips against Eddie’s.

Like a lock clicking into place, or the final piece of a jigsaw puzzle completing a picture, everything suddenly felt _right_ and Eddie let the last of his doubts go. Dan was kissing him, Venom was bubbling over with happiness, and Eddie’s own heart felt like it was going to burst with his own feelings. Life was good, better than good, and his future looked to be full of love. His eyes fluttered closed and he pushed away thoughts of everything else bar the lips pressing against his and the warmth of the smooth skin of his symbiote sliding across his chest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to everyone who read and left lovely, positive comments anf encouragement - it really meant a lot to me. Unfortunately I was inundated with quite a few comments that were either plain mean, looking for a fight that was never there, or were just completely entitled and demanded more from me than I have to give. I know they are the minority, and I deleted them, tried not to engage, but it's been enough to take my love of writing from me and I've been struggling. I'm going to give up writing fanfic for a while now - this is a hobby, something that I do for love of it, and that love has faded thanks to these people. I'm sorry that it'd this fic to come to such a premature end, definitely not the one it deserved, that my lovely readers deserved, but it's better than leaving it abandoned. Much love to those of you who have been there for me, perhaps I'll see you around sometime x


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